New Delhi : About 58 lakh pensioners’ bank accounts may be subsumed under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a national mission for financial inclusion. The move is being seen as a part of the Centre’s plan of bringing all subsidies and welfare schemes under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) net by March 31, 2017. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has been asked to examine the possibility of converting pensioners’ accounts into PMJDY account, as per a communique issued by Cabinet Secretariat.
All banks have earlier been directed to give priority to pensioners visiting their branches for seeding of Aadhaar numbers with their accounts. There are about 58 lakh central government pensioners. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues Aadhaar–a 12-digit unique identification number–which acts as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in the country, reports PTI. The DBT Mission, which functions under the Cabinet Secretariat, has asked Department of Financial Services (DFS) to examine the possibility of seeding PMJDY account with the Aadhaar to be used as primary account (single account) for transfer of all government benefits, the communique said.