Jan Dhan achieved, govt to now focus on Mudra, Stand Up India schemes

NEWDELHI: After the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhani Yojana (PMJDY), the government will now focus on Stand Up India and Mudra schemes, both of which aim

NEWDELHI: After the success of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhani Yojana (PMJDY), the government will now focus on Stand Up India and Mudra schemes, both of which aim to boost entrepreneurship.

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As of July 20, 2016, 226 million banks accounts had been opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana with a total balance of ₹40,600 crore.

An extensive advertisement and marketing campaign, targeted primarily at the audiences living in semi-urban and rural areas, is on the anvil.

“For the government, the focus is no more PMJDY, it has already been a huge success and we have surpassed all our targets but we now want to focus on other schemes, especially the ones which are related to creation of jobs,” a senior finance ministry official told HT.

With two successive deficient monsoons, these two schemes will be critical as they are aimed at creating income to hedge uncertainties in the agriculture.

Banks have managed to lend to 35 million borrowers under the Mudra scheme, which was launched in April 2015. “The Mudra scheme has got a good response so far but the government needs to be at it and promote these programmes ,” Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic adviser, SBI said.