Dish TV betting big on Jan Dhan Yojana, offers 10% discount

The discount is for subscribers paying their bill through the RuPay-enabled cards

Aimed at promoting government's ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, DTH services provider Dish TV will offer 10% discount to subscribers paying their bill through the RuPay-enabled cards.

The discounted subscription offer for the Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service will be launched early next week all across India for those covered under Jan Dhan yojana, Dish TV India Ltd Chief Operating Officer Salil Kapoor told PTI in a telephonic interview.

"We want to give a special offer under the Jan Dhan Yojana. We will offer 10% discount of every recharge. We feel that this yojana is very crucial. It will enable everybody in the country to have a bank account," Kapoor said.

Kapoor said the company will offer the discount to new as well as existing Dish TV subscribers on every recharge who make payments through any channels -- online, cheque, debit card, bank linked Electronic Clearing Service -- of the Jan Dhan bank account.

The discounted offer on Dish TV subscription is an open ended scheme with no time limit, he added.

Under the new scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 28 to provide financial services to unbanked people, government has so far opened a total of 2.14 crore bank accounts.

It targets to provide bank accounts to a total of 7.5 crore people by January 26, 2015.

"Mahatma Gandhi worked to remove social untouchability. And if we want to get rid of poverty, then we have to first get rid of financial untouchability. We have to connect every person with the financial system. When a bank account is opened, it's a step towards joining economic mainstream," Modi had said during the launch of the project.