'Modi Had It All Mapped Out In 2014 Itself!' BlueKraft CEO On How PM's Jan Dhan Paved Way For Welfare Of Poor

As the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the first flagship scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 10 years on Wednesday, experts across fields hailed it for paving the way for key welfare schemes over the years.

The PMJDY became the bedrock on which Modi government launched a number of welfare schemes as there was now a way to directly send cash benefits to the bank accounts of the poor without the need of any intermediaries and hence elimination of the concept of leakages. India already had the Aadhaar database to ensure the correct beneficiary held a particular bank account.

Be it direct benefit transfers, COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, subsidy amount under PM Ujjwala Yojana, or life and health insurance cover – all of this has been delivered on the foundation of the PMJDY. Today the last mile delivery of Government services happens with the click of a mouse in seconds.

Akhilesh Mishra, CEO, BlueKraft Digital Foundation, in a post on X wrote: “As we celebrate #10YearsOfJanDhan, it is remarkable to think of the complex mapping and the step-by-step stacking of the economic architecture that PM Modi had in his mind from the beginning itself. Remember, Jan Dhan is the FIRST flagship scheme of PM Modi, launched within months of his tenure. It, thus, came from his own deeply held beliefs rather than any ‘expert’ advice.

Mishra further wrote the first task was to set the base. “Jan Dhan (in 2014), giving legal architecture to Aadhar (2015-16) and the new telecom policy of 2015 enabled the JAM trinity which fundamentally changed India. Because the poorest, who need state enabling hand the most, were now in formal financial systems.”

According to Mishra, JAM trinity, built on base of Jan Dhan enabled. He listed the schemes:

• DBT (2014): Ending the poverty parade and indignity of queuing up to get your rightful benefits (0ver 38 lakhs crore transferred so far).
• Mudra Loans (2015): Collateral free, affordable loans ending reign of informal sector loan sharks and perpetual loans traps (0ver 46 Cr loans).
• Social Security (2015): Life Insurance, accidental insurance and pension schemes – an entire bouquet which had never reached over 50 Cr people was now enabled. (Over 45 CR beneficiaries)
• Housing – PM Aawaas (2015): Jan Dhan assured the subsidy reached the indented, targeted, and deserving beneficiary. (Over 4 Cr homes)
• Crop Insurance: PM Fasal Bima (2016) worked, when all previous failed, because among other reasons the farmers were assured of their insurance payout when needed. (Over 8 Cr farmers covered)
• UPI – Digital Payments (2016): The unprecedented mass scaling and success happened only because it connected the entire spectrum – from fruit selling village vendor to the household maid. (40% of world wide digital payments take place India alone).
• Ayushman Bharat (2018) – The world’s largest health scheme, a product which the poor earlier had no hopes of even dreaming about, was now a reality. (over 50 Cr beneficiaries)
• Farm Incidental Expense – PM Kisan (2019): Identified and verified marginal farmer was now in the financial system. Reachable directly. (over 11 Cr farmers covered)
• Crisis support (2020-21): The assured, timely and leak proof support millions of people during COVID-19 induced lockdown. It is an underappreciated achievement – the way in which the government support helped the country tide over the pandemic.
• Street Vendors – PM SVANidhi (2020): Such is the sophistication of Jan Dhan by now, that banks were confident of giving loans to even street vendors!

According to Mishra: “But beyond the obvious and headline numbers, the real impact of Jan Dhan has been this: Jan Dhan ended the indignity of the poor. The indignity that came at the end of the day to a MNREGA worker who had to shell out a cut from his hard earned money to the middleman. The indignity that came to a poor women entrepreneur who went to take a loan but the banks refused and she was caught in the loan shark world. The indignity of being unable to get hospital treatment for your loved ones and the helplessness that brought.”

“So while Jan Dhan solved the basic needs of the poor one one spectrum and enabled a digital revolution at the other, at the basic level it ignited a sense of empowerment and dignity in the poor. Once cannot but overstate the multiplier effects that this has on the destinies of the country. In the history of economic reforms since 1991, Jan Dhan, launched not under coercion but as a commitment, is inarguably the greatest reform with the most positive after-effects. Among PM Modi’s most enduring legacies, Jan Dhan will remain among the very top – remarkable considering what else has as achieved (Article 370, Ram Mandir to just name two). And to think that PM Modi had all this mapped out in advance in 2014 itself!” he wrote.