NEW DELHI: Marking the sixth anniversary of the 'Jan Dhan' scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the initiative has been a "game-changer" and served as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives.
After he led the BJP to power in 2014, this was one of his government's first major projects under which bank accounts of crores of people, mostly poor, were opened.
"Today, six years ago, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked.
This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people," the prime minister tweeted.
"Thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the future of several families has become secure. A high proportion of beneficiaries are from rural areas and are women. I also applaud all those who have worked tirelessly to make PM-JDY a success. #6Years Of JanDhan Yojana," he added.
The graphics shared by him showed that more than 40 crore bank accounts have been opened so far with more than 63 per cent of the beneficiaries belonging to rural areas.
Over 55 per cent of them are women.
The government has said that it has been able to directly transfer welfare benefits to the needy due to the scheme.