Major Government Schemes in Banking & Insurance

Financial Inclusion Schemes in India

1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

• Core Objective: To ensure universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance, and pension facility.
• Zero Balance: The account can be opened with a zero balance. It is essentially a Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA).
• RuPay Debit Card: Beneficiaries are invariably provided a RuPay Debit Card with an in-built accident insurance cover of ₹2 lakh (this was originally ₹1 lakh, but was raised for accounts opened after Aug 28, 2018).
• Overdraft (OD) Facility: An OD facility up to ₹10,000 (raised from the original ₹5,000) is available to one account holder per household, preferably a lady of the household, subject to satisfactory operation of the account for at least 6 months. The upper age limit for availing OD is 65 years.
• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Subsidies (like LPG subsidies, PM KISAN) are directly routed through these accounts, stopping completely leakages.

2. Insurance and Social Security Schemes

A. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

• Type: It is a pure one-year term life insurance scheme, renewable from year to year.
• Eligibility: Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank/post office account.
• Coverage Amount: Provides a life cover of ₹2 lakhs payable upon the member's death due to absolutely any reason.
• Premium: ₹436 per annum (raised from the initial ₹330 in 2022). It gets automatically deducted via auto-debit usually in May.
• Administration: Offered by LIC and other private life insurers.

B. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

• Type: It is an accidental death and disability insurance scheme.
• Eligibility: Broader age group of 18 to 70 years.
• Coverage Amount: ₹2 lakhs for accidental death or full disability, and ₹1 lakh for partial permanent disability.
• Premium: A remarkably low ₹20 per annum (raised from ₹12 in 2022), auto-debited electronically.
• Administration: Offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies.

C. Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

• Objective: To create a universal social security system aimed specifically at the unorganized sector, replacing the Swavalamban scheme. Administered tightly by PFRDA.
• Eligibility: The age of joining is strict: 18 to 40 years.
• Pension Amount: Provides a statutorily guaranteed minimum monthly pension ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 upon reaching the age of 60 years.
• Premium Calculation: The premium fundamentally varies based on the age at entry and the chosen pension amount. The earlier you join, the significantly lower your premium will be.

3. Credit and Entrepreneurship Schemes

A. Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY)

• Launched on April 8, 2015, MUDRA provides crucial loans up to ₹10 lakhs to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises.
• No Collateral: Loans are given by PSBs, Private Banks, RRBs, SFBs, and Micro Finance Institutions. Absolutely no collateral security is demanded as it falls under the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU).
• Three Products:
  1. Shishu: Loans up to ₹50,000 (For starting new micro-businesses).
  2. Kishore: Loans from ₹50,001 to ₹5,00,000 (For expanding established units).
  3. Tarun: Loans from ₹5,00,001 to ₹10,00,000 (For businesses needing heavier capital injections).

B. Stand-Up India Scheme

• Launched on April 5, 2016.
• Core Mandate: Extremely strict criteria mandating bank branches to facilitate loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch.
• Purpose: Exclusively for setting up a greenfield enterprise (a brand-new, first-time venture start-up) in manufacturing, services, agri-allied activities, or the trading sector.
• Non-individual Enterprises: At least 51% of the total shareholding must be held by an SC/ST or woman entrepreneur.