99% of Indian households have at least 1 bank account.

Data from an independent and nationally representative ICE 360 survey, 2016 shows that 99% of the Indian households are covered by a bank account.

Data from an independent and nationally representative ICE 360 survey, 2016 shows that 99% of the Indian households are covered by a bank account.Ever since the government announced the scrapping of high-value currency notes on Nov 8, 2016, bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) became the subject of a raging controversy. While, on the one hand, the government spokespersons have cited the JDY numbers for stressing the universalization of banking in the country, critics have questioned the credibility of those numbers, pointing out that many of the accounts may be fictitious and may not belong to the true and deserving beneficiaries of the scheme.

Data from an independent and large-scale, nationally representative survey, ‘Households Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy’ (ICE 360° survey) conducted in 2016, showed that the government’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme has been successful in getting people to open bank accounts. According to the survey, ‘99% of the Indian households are covered by a bank account’. The survey also shows that a significant chunk of households that have access to banking still don’t use banking instruments to save or invest.

India has a long history of government efforts to promote financial inclusion. PMJDY was launched in August 2014 with a comprehensive plan whose goal is to ensure every family in India has a bank account. According to the World Bank building on what was already 53% (469 million) of people over the age of 15 having a bank account, this program led to the opening of 260 million accounts in just over two years, reported the Mint. According to PMJDY, in 19 of 28 states, all families have a bank account, and in the remaining nine states, over 99% of households have a bank account. This is consistent with an independent, large-scale national representation.