New Delhi, Nov 8 (PTI) Banks have issued 31.67 crore RuPay debit cards with free accident insurance cover to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account holders, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

Bank accounts opened under PMJDY have swelled to 43.76 crore since its launch in August 2014.

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"Progressing ahead with a mission to provide universal access to banking facilities for every adult citizen, 31.67 crore #RuPay debit cards with inbuilt accident insurance coverage issued to #PMJanDhan account holders till October 21," Department of Financial Services under Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

The Jan Dhan Yojana, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address in 2014, was launched on August 28 in the same year.

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In 2018, the government launched PMJDY 2.0 with enhanced features and benefits. Under the new version, the government decided to shift focus from ‘Every Household' to ‘Every Unbanked Adult' and free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards was doubled to Rs 2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after August 28, 2018.

"#PMJanDhan accounts have grown multi-fold (from 14.72 crores in Mar'15 to 43.76 crores in Oct'21). An exceptional journey of India's #FinancialInclusion Program," another tweet said.

About 55 per cent of the total account holders under PMJDY, a flagship scheme of the government to promote financial inclusion, are women. PTI DP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)