Over 200 million women Jan-Dhan account holders to get ₹500 for May from Monday

The first instalment of the ex-gratia payment was paid in April. The last instalment will be paid in June,

The government has asked both private and public sector banks to keep their systems and processes ready to disburse ₹500 to over 200 million women Jan-Dhan account holders each from Monday, which is part of the ₹1.7 lakh crore Prime Minister Jan Kalyan Yojana package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26, officials said.

The money will be released by the ministry of rural development (MoRD) directly in the bank accounts of over 200 million. (Santosh Kumar/HT photo for representation)

In order to help the poor in this difficult time when livelihoods of most of them have been disrupted due to teh lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, the government had decided to give an ex-gratia of ₹500 per month for three months from April.

The money will be released by the ministry of rural development (MoRD) directly in the bank accounts of over 200 million accounts, hence banks have been asked to provide for enough cash in their branches and ATMs so that the beneficiaries should not face any hassle and social distancing is maintained, the officials said requesting anonymity.

In order to avoid rush it is suggested to disburse money on the basis of last digit of individual accounts in a particular day, they said. The first Monday is fixed for account numbers ending with 0 and 1. Likewise for account numbers ending with 2-3 on Tuesday, 4-5 on Wednesday, 6-7 on Friday and 8-9 on the next Monday. Based on the plan, banks are advised to inform account holders through SMS, they said.