11 crore families enrolled in Suraksha Bandhan: Modi

Expressing satisfaction over the public response to government programmes for social security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said 11 crore families had so far enrolled in the recently launched 'Suraksha Bandhan' scheme, of whom around half were women.

"So far, 11 crore families have joined the 'Suraksha Bandhan' scheme, of whom approximately half the beneficiaries are our mothers and sisters," Modi said in his Mann ki Baat address.

"I regard this as a good augury, and many greetings to mothers and sisters on Raksha Bandhan," he added.

As part of celebrations on Raksha Bandhan, banks have vowed to push the social security schemes launched by the prime minister, including Suraksha Bandhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

The government this month launched a special 'Suraksha Bandhan' enrolment drive for its social security schemes through innovative plans like gift cheques and special deposits coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival, it was announced.

"The drive will reach out to the pool of eligible bank account holders who are yet to be enrolled under these schemes - namely the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) for accident and disability cover of up to Rs.2 lakh at an annual premium of Rs.12 and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) for a term life cover of Rs.2 lakh at an annual premium of Rs.330," the finance ministry announced earlier this month.

The Suraksha Bandhan drive seeks to encourage people to gift social security plans to their near ones. It will be supported through the Jeevan Suraksha gift cheques to be made available for Rs.351 in bank branches to facilitate one year payment of premium for PMJJBY and PMSBY by the recipient.

The recipient of the gift cheque would deposit the instrument in the bank account for a realisable value of Rs.342 (Rs.12 + Rs.330) to cover one-year subscription to the schemes.

The balance of Rs.9 would be retained by the issuing bank as a service charge.

Banks will also provide a facility to account holders under the Suraksha Deposit Scheme and the Jeevan Suraksha Deposit Scheme aimed at enabling them to deposit Rs.201 or Rs.5,001, respectively, in their accounts either on their own initiative, or based on cash or cheques received as gifts on Raksha Bandhan for subscription to the schemes, the ministry said.