Labour Bureau data on Bank accounts in the country

According to the latest Labour Bureau data, almost every household in the country is a part of the banking system, mainly due to government’s financial inclusion plans.

Key facts:

• Around 94.4% households had saving bank accounts in 2015-16. The figure was much higher than the official figure (58.7%) of households with saving bank accounts in India, as per Census 2011.
• While 93.4% households in rural areas had a bank account, 96.8% houses had a savings bank account in the urban parts.
• In Daman and Diu and Lakshwadeep, all the households surveyed had saving bank accounts. Chandigarh had 99% households with saving bank accounts whereas households in Nagaland had the least, 79.2%, access to the banking system.


• Banking penetration was particularly low in north-eastern states – Manipur (82.8%), Meghalaya (85.1%) and Arunachal Pradesh (88.9%). This was followed by a comparatively low coverage in West Bengal (90.4%), Karnataka (91.6%) and Mizoram (91.7%).

Background:

According to the data, Government of India’s recent initiatives to enhance the financial inclusion and accessibility of financial institutions such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (Mudra) Yojana may have translated into entering of more population in the ambit of formal financial activities.