Advertisement
Official Data Contradict FinMin’s Claims on Private Banks’ Role in Financial Inclusion
The Finance Minister stated that Private Sector Banks would implement government schemes on a par with Public Sector Banks .However, official data from the PMJDY scheme indicates a clear disparity, showing PVBs' participation in account openings and deposits is significantly lower than that of PSBs.
Author: Nimmydev
Published: 2 hours ago
Advertisement
A discrepancy has emerged in India's financial sector regarding the implementation of government sponsored schemes by Private Sector Banks (PVBs), running contrary to a recent directive from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry recently stressed that private banks must implement initiatives, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), on a par with their Public Sector Bank (PSB) counterparts, urging them to increase their participation in these key financial inclusion programmes.
Advertisement
Image: Official PMJDY data from the scheme's central portal
Official PMJDY data from the scheme's central portal, however, reveals a significant gap in outreach and deposits between the two banking sectors. The figures indicate that Public Sector Banks overwhelmingly dominate the scheme’s execution, accounting for approximately 78 to 80 per cent of the total accounts opened under PMJDY.
In sharp contrast, Private Sector Banks currently account for a far smaller share of beneficiaries and deposits. For instance, recent data shows that PVBs hold only a marginal percentage of the total funds deposited under the scheme. This enduring disparity suggests that while the government's official policy and directive emphasise equal delivery, the practical ground level implementation of these mass financial inclusion initiatives remains heavily reliant on the extensive reach and historical commitment of the Public Sector Banks. Banking representatives have previously attributed the lower PVB participation to the costs associated with managing high volumes of zero balance accounts and their limited branch presence in rural and semi urban areas.
Source (PMJDY Official Website)
No comments yet.