Bridge the gap between Jan Dhan accounts and RuPay cards: Govt to banks

Asks banks to issue pass books and RuPay debit cards to customers at the earliest to encourage and educate them about deposits and savings

Government has asked banks, which have opened 8.76 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana but issued only 5.78 crore RuPay debit cards so far, to bridge the gap between the two.

It has asked banks to issue pass books and RuPay debit cards to customers at the earliest to encourage and educate them about deposits and savings, an official release said today.

"As per status..., banks have opened 8.76 crore accounts under PMJDY and have issued 5.78 crore RuPay cards. All the banks have been advised to cover the gap including of their Regional Rural Banks at the earliest," it said.

The instructions were sent to banks through a video conference under Anurag Jain, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance to review the progress made under the scheme.

Also, banks have been asked to develop a redressal system so that complaints can be resolved in three days, where no investigation is required, and in seven days for situations demanding detailed investigation.

Banks were asked to open at least one account of adult member in every household.

The household coverage, as per a survey, has increased to 89% and about 2.18 crore households are still uncovered.

Government also asked banks to sensitise their staff as well as train 'bank mitras' to resolve complaints relating to non-opening of accounts.