New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s initiatives during the last 12 years have strengthened access to financial inclusion, healthcare, housing, tap water, clean fuel and social security exponentially, according to a factsheet put out by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s office on Monday.

The statement highlights that the number of Jan Dhan bank accounts for the poor across India has touched the 58.15 crore mark, with the total deposits in these accounts increasing to Rs 3 lakh crore, which reflects the success of the scheme. The opening of these accounts under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana in rural areas is seen as the biggest financial inclusion exercise in the world. According to RBI data, 56 per cent of the Jan Dhan accounts belong to women.

The Jan Dhan Yojana-Aadhaar-Mobile, which comprises the “JAM Trinity”, has provided a quantum leap in the country’s endeavour to ensure financial inclusion and ensure that the benefit of government welfare schemes reaches the targeted beneficiaries without any leakages.

The statement underlines that the number of Ayushman Bharat cards under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has reached the 44 crore mark. The scheme provides health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore families, constituting the bottom 40 per cent of India’s population. Additionally, in March 2024, approximately 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists, Anganwadi Workers, and Anganwadi Helpers were included under the scheme. The scheme was further expanded to cover 6 crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above, belonging to 4.5 crore families, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

Besides, the statement highlights that 15.7 crore tap water connections have been issued to provide safe drinking water to the poor, over 12 crore toilets have been constructed to improve their conditions of living, and 2.9 crore households have been given electric connections under the Saubhagya scheme.

The Union Cabinet recently approved a proposal to restructure and reorient the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission from infrastructure creation to service delivery, supported by drinking water governance and an institutional ecosystem for sustainable rural piped potable water supply.

For restructuring the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), focusing on structural reforms, the Cabinet has approved an increase in the total outlay to Rs 8.69 lakh crore, with total Central assistance of Rs 3.59 lakh crore — up from Rs 2.08 lakh crore approved in 2019-20. The additional Central share works out to Rs 1.51 lakh crore, according to an official statement.

The factsheet also highlights that as many as 10 crore LPG connections have been issued to provide cooking gas to poor households, and 4 crore pucca houses have been built for poor families under a scheme launched by the Modi government.

–IANS

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