A fifth of all accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana remain non-functional and more than half had a balance of less than Rs 1,000.

Of the 541.3 million accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), 113.7 million accounts are non-operational as on December 4, Finance Minister Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. There are 336.8 million PMJDY accounts with a balance of less than Rs 1,000 as on October 30, he added.

The minister was replying to a question on inoperative accounts under PMJDY.

Launched in August 2014, it is a major government initiative that aims to provide universal banking services to all unbanked households. “The PMJDY account is a type of Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account, said Chaudhary.

Meanwhile, in response to another question, the MoS informed the Rajya Sabha that Rs 85,718.14 crore has been approved and Rs 60,120.76 crore has been released to the states under the Special Assistance to States Scheme for Capital Investment 2024-25. Under the scheme, the central government provided a 50-year interest-free loan to the states.

States received Rs 1.10 lakh crore in FY24, and Rs 81,195.35 crore in FY23. Meanwhile, Rs 14,185.78 crore were released to states in FY22 and Rs 11,830.29 crore in FY21.

"In October 2020, the Union Government introduced a Special Capital Expenditure Assistance Scheme to States, keeping in view the tough fiscal environment faced by state governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Special assistance (loans) was provided to states to help them increase capital expenditure and increase the productive capacity of the economy. in an anti-danger era," he said.