PM Jan Dhan Yojana launched in Tripura

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar Thursday launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in Tripura to cover all households of the northeastern state with banking facilities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the scheme on Independence Day. He Thursday launched the PMJDY in New Delhi.

"I thanked Narendra Modi for launching the programme. It will help people come under banking services and keep them out of the clutches of chit funds," said Sarkar, also a politburo member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

After launching the scheme, Sarkar hoped that within three months, all households in Tripura would be covered under the PMJDY.

"Tripura might be the No.1 state in India where almost all households have bank accounts," he said.

The chief minister said banks should be more pro-active in providing financial support to farmers who hold Kisan Credit Cards.

"I have also told the Reserve Bank of India governor that farmers are not getting financial help from banks as per their necessities," he added.

United Bank of India executive director Sanjay Arya said all the 607,779 families in rural Tripura have banking accounts and 235,002 households in urban areas have 1,706,550 bank accounts.

Many families in urban areas have more than one or two accounts, he said.

Under the PMJDY, with a bank account, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities. This will help them come out of the grip of moneylenders, and keep them away from financial crises caused by emergent needs, and most importantly, benefit them with a range of financial products.

As a first step under the scheme, every account holder gets a debit card with a Rs.1 lakh insurance cover.