International Journal of Commerce and Management Research

Authors
Dr. Hardeep

Abstract
A large segment of Indian people are still unbanked even after 69 years of independence. Census, 2011 estimates that only 58.7 percent of the households have access to banking services. Financial Inclusion is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of society. It aims to provide the access of financial services at a reasonable cost for all households and to provide them a full range of financial services including savings or deposit services, payment and transfer services, credit and insurance facilities by relaxing the KYC norms and waiving off the minimum balance requirements. Reserve Bank of India vision for 2020 is to open nearly 600 million new customers’ accounts and service them through a variety of channels by leveraging on IT. However, illiteracy and the low income savings and lack of bank branches in rural areas continue to be a roadblock to financial inclusion in many states and there is inadequate legal and financial structure. The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana launched by Govt. of India is a key initiative towards attainment of the goal of RBI. The present study is undertaken to evaluate the progress of financial inclusion through PMJDY in India.