RBI restricts withdrawal limit on Jan Dhan accounts to Rs 10,000

The government clamped temporary restrictions on withdrawals from Jan Dhan accounts on Wednesday in a bid to stop people from parking illegal incomes in these accounts.

In a notification, the Reserve Bank of India announced that Jan Dhan account holders fully compliant with bank transaction data norms will be allowed to withdraw Rs 10000 monthly.

Further withdrawals may be allowed only after the “genuineness” of such needs was recorded by the bank.

Any Jan Dhan account holder who isn’t complaint with the “know your customer” norms will be allowed to withdraw ₹ 5,000 per month from the amount deposited through the old notes after November 9 “within the overall ceiling of ₹ 10,000”.

This comes after the government revealed the total deposits in the Jan Dhan accounts suddenly increased to Rs 64,252.15 crore between November 10 and 16 – after the government announced the scrapping of high-value banknotes.

“With a view to protect innocent farmers and rural account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana from activities of money launders and legal consequences under the Benami Property Transaction & Money Laundering laws, it has been decided to place certain limits, as a matter of precaution,” the RBI notification read.

Last Friday, the RBI had announced a weekly withdrawal ceiling of Rs 24,000 for all bank accounts.

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The government abruptly recalled all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes – which made up 86% of the currency in circulation by value – three weeks ago in a bid to stamp out “black money”. But a bumpy roll-out of the move has seen millions of people lined up outside banks and ATMs amid fears that thousands of jobs may be lost in India’s large informal economy.

Two weeks ago, the government announced it will monitor bank accounts, especially those of artisans, workers, housewives and the poor, and prosecute anyone allowing the parking of illegal wealth of others.

The finance ministry decision came after numerous reports that unscrupulous elements were using such accounts to stash “black money”.

The ministry would also monitor zero-balance accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme after a surge in the deposits of many of such accounts.

The government had informed last week that among the deposits in PMJDY accounts, Uttar Pradesh led the chart with Rs 10,670.62 crore deposits followed by West Bengal and Rajasthan.

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First Published: Nov 30, 2016 10:30 IST