India Celebrates The 11th Anniversary Of India’s Flagship Financial Inclusion Scheme

This August marks the 11th anniversary of India's flagship financial inclusion scheme - Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). This was launched on August 28, 2014, by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

PMJDY is guided by the mission of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded, and serving the unserved and underserved. Today, PMJDY has become the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world, which is a crucial step towards inclusive growth and poverty alleviation.

PMJDY has played a transformative role in enabling every unbanked adult in India to open a bank account, have a financial identity, and access essential services like credit, insurance, and pensions.

According to the Indian Embassy in Cairo, PMJDY offers a comprehensive range of benefits to meet the diverse financial needs of individuals such as zero-balance accounts with no maintenance charges, RuPay debit cards with built-in accident insurance cover of EGP 110750.20, overdraft facility of EGP 5537.51, and access to micro-insurance and services through Business Correspondents (BCs) in remote locations.

Over the past 11 years, the scheme has democratized financial access, with 560 million bank accounts opened out of which 300 million are women beneficiaries, thereby promoting gender equality in financial access. The total deposits in PMJDY accounts have increased from EGP 86.77 billion in March 2015 to an impressive EGP 1482.70 billion as of August 2025, showcasing the growing trust of beneficiaries in the formal banking system and their active participation in financial activities.

Another notable impact is that 67% of the bank accounts were opened in rural/semi-urban areas and 33% accounts were opened in urban/metro areas. It has become a cornerstone for Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), enabling transparent, efficient, and corruption-free delivery of government subsidies and payments. A total of 386.8 million RuPay debit cards have been issued to PMJDY account holders, facilitating cashless transactions and providing access to the inbuilt accident insurance cover.

The scheme has got recognition in the Guiness World Record for opening the maximum number of 18,096,130 bank accounts in one week as part of the financial inclusion campaign. The scheme’s success in India is a testament to the power of a national, mission-driven approach to financial empowerment.

Financial inclusion has been a priority for Egypt to expand financial access. The National Financial Inclusion Strategy of Egypt encourages banks to offer free, low-minimum-balance accounts, with simplified documentation procedures for opening accounts, and conducting outreach events for financial literacy, which resonates deeply with the spirit of PMJDY. This offers numerous avenues for collaboration between India and Egypt.