Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 8, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Department of Financial Services has not asked banks to close inactive bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the finance ministry clarified Tuesday after media reports said the government has directed banks to close inactive accounts to avoid misuse. "The total number of PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) accounts has seen a continuous increasing trend, and no incidents of mass closure of inactive PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) accounts have come to the knowledge of the department," the ministry said in a release. 

According to media reports, the department directed state-owned banks to close inoperative accounts amid the rising instances of them being misused as mule accounts for financial fraud. As per the Reserve Bank of India, a bank account is classified as "inoperative" if there are no "customer-induced transactions" for a continuous period of 24 months.

The Department of Financial Services constantly monitors the number of inoperative Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts and has advised banks to contact respective account holders to make their accounts operative, the finance ministry said. It also added that the department has started a three-month campaign on Jul. 1 to deepen the adoption of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, and other welfare schemes. Banks will also carry out a re-KYC (Know Your Customer) of all accounts during this campaign.

The government introduced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana in August 2014 to promote financial inclusion. The scheme provides universal banking services for every unbanked household. It offers account holders advantages, such as a bank account without having to maintain a minimum balance, free-of-cost RuPay debit cards with inbuilt accident insurance of INR 200,000, and an overdraft facility of up to INR 10,000.

As of Jun. 25, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana had deposits of INR 2.60 trillion, with 556.9 million bank accounts under the scheme.  End

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Saji George Titus

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