One in four Jan Dhan accounts inactive as 57 million sit empty

The Department of Financial Services has disclosed that approximately 25 percent of accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) remain inactive, raising questions about the effectiveness of India's signature financial inclusion initiative. According to a response to a right-to-information application filed by activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the scheme has accumulated 59.04 crore accounts nationwide carrying a combined balance of Rs 3.15 lakh crore as of mid-August 2026.

While the aggregate corpus demonstrates substantial deposits within the scheme, the underlying metrics reveal significant operational challenges. Of the total accounts, 15.37 crore were classified as inoperative, while 5.72 crore accounts held zero balance. The data indicates that women account holders, including transgender individuals, comprised 32.89 crore of the total accounts, with men holding the remaining 26.14 crore.

Launched in August 2014 as the National Mission for Financial Inclusion, the PMJDY was designed to ensure universal financial access across India's households. The scheme has enabled millions to open bank accounts with zero minimum balance requirements. However, the high proportion of dormant and empty accounts suggests that account opening alone has not translated into sustained financial engagement for a substantial segment of beneficiaries.

The findings underscore persistent challenges in converting financial access into active participation, particularly among lower-income populations whom the scheme primarily targets. Experts have previously noted that account dormancy often reflects barriers including limited financial literacy, irregular income patterns, and inadequate awareness of account benefits among rural and urban poor populations.