Monsoon Session: 23% of Jan Dhan Accounts Dormant
Millions of PMJDY accounts inactive, government launches revival.
A staggering 23% of the 56.04 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts, totaling 13.04 crore, are currently inoperative, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary revealed in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Launched in 2014 to promote financial inclusion, the PMJDY aimed to provide banking access to millions of unbanked households, but the high number of dormant accounts raises questions about its long-term effectiveness.
Uttar Pradesh leads with 2.75 crore inoperative accounts, followed by Bihar with 1.39 crore and Madhya Pradesh with 1.07 crore, Chaudhary noted. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines from February 18, 2009, a savings account is deemed inoperative if no transactions occur for over two years. This dormancy has sparked concerns, with some attributing it to low financial literacy, lack of regular usage, or incomplete KYC compliance.
To address this, the government has initiated multiple measures to revive these accounts. Banks are proactively contacting account holders through letters, emails, and SMS to notify them of impending inactivity and to reactivate dormant accounts on a quarterly basis. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes continue to deposit benefits into inactive accounts to encourage usage. Additionally, a nationwide Gram Panchayat-level Saturation Campaign, running from July 1 to September 30, 2025, prioritizes Re-KYC for inactive PMJDY accounts to restore their functionality.
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Chaudhary also addressed other financial queries in the Lok Sabha. He confirmed no current plans to impose transaction charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with the government providing Rs 8,730 crore in incentives from FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25 to sustain UPI services. Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have raised Rs 1,53,978 crore over the last three financial years (FY2022-23 to FY2024-25) through equity and Basel III-compliant bonds to support credit growth, regulatory compliance, and capital adequacy.
On gold loans, Chaudhary reported a slight rise in Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), from 0.20% in March 2023 to 0.22% in March 2025 for Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), and from 1.21% to 2.14% for Upper- and Middle-Layer NBFCs. The RBI Ombudsman received 188 gold loan-related complaints in FY 2024-25, handled under the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021. The RBI does not maintain data on gold loans sanctioned by SCBs and NBFCs.
Regarding cryptocurrencies, Chaudhary clarified that the RBI does not regulate crypto assets, as they fall outside its domain. This stance underscores ongoing uncertainties in India’s cryptocurrency policy framework.
The high proportion of inoperative PMJDY accounts has drawn criticism, with some, like X user @dennisckurian, suggesting that funds transferred to these accounts risk being siphoned off through non-maintenance fees. The government’s ongoing campaigns aim to address these challenges, but experts emphasize the need for enhanced financial education and infrastructure to ensure the scheme’s success in bridging India’s banking gap.
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