Financial Inclusion Schemes: Jan Dhan, MUDRA and PMJJBY

The correct answer is B, 28 August 2014. PMJDY, the National Mission for Financial Inclusion, was launched on 28 August 2014 with the aim of giving every unbanked household a bank account, a RuPay debit card, an overdraft facility and access to insurance and pension. Option A is wrong because 15 August 2014 is the date on which the scheme was announced from the Red Fort in the Independence Day address, and it is also the opening date of the first enrolment phase, but the launch itself came thirteen days later. Option C is wrong because 8 April 2015 is the launch date of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. Option D is wrong because 5 April 2016 is the launch date of Stand Up India. Mixing these three dates is the commonest error in this topic.

The correct answer is C, Rupees 2 lakh. The free RuPay debit card issued with a Jan Dhan account carries a built-in accidental insurance cover, and for accounts opened after 28 August 2018 this cover was raised from one lakh rupees to two lakh rupees when the mission was made open-ended. Option A is wrong because thirty thousand rupees was the life cover, not the accident cover, and it applied only to accounts opened in the first phase between 15 August 2014 and 31 January 2015. Option B is wrong because one lakh rupees is the cover for accounts opened on or before 28 August 2018, which is why the date in the question decides the answer. Option D is wrong because no stage of the scheme has carried a five lakh rupee accident cover; five lakh rupees is the family cover under the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat.

The correct answer is C, Rupees 436. PMJJBY gives a one-year renewable life cover of two lakh rupees payable on death from any cause, and its premium is four hundred and thirty-six rupees a year, auto-debited from the subscriber's bank account for a cover year that runs from 1 June to 31 May. Option A is wrong because twenty rupees a year is the premium of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, the accident cover, which is the scheme most often confused with this one. Option B is wrong because three hundred and thirty rupees was the earlier premium of PMJJBY, charged until the rates were revised with effect from 1 June 2022, so it is the stale figure that older study material still carries. Option D is wrong because no Jan Suraksha scheme charges a premium of twelve hundred rupees.

The correct answer is D, 18 to 70 years. PMSBY is a one-year renewable personal accident insurance scheme open to savings bank account holders aged eighteen to seventy who consent to the auto-debit of the twenty rupee annual premium. It pays two lakh rupees on accidental death or permanent total disability and one lakh rupees on permanent partial disability. Option A is wrong because eighteen to forty years is the entry age band for the Atal Pension Yojana, which must allow at least twenty years of contribution before the pension begins at sixty. Option B is wrong because eighteen to fifty years is the entry age band for the life insurance scheme PMJJBY, whose cover continues up to the age of fifty-five. Option C is wrong because sixty is the age at which the Atal Pension Yojana pension starts, not an entry limit under PMSBY.

The correct answer is C, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The Atal Pension Yojana is administered by the PFRDA through the architecture of the National Pension System, and it guarantees a monthly pension of one thousand to five thousand rupees from the age of sixty to subscribers who join between the ages of eighteen and forty. Option A is wrong because the Reserve Bank regulates banks and the payment system and only directs banks to enrol customers; it does not run the pension scheme. Option B is wrong because the IRDAI regulates insurers and therefore oversees the insurance companies behind PMJJBY and PMSBY, not the pension scheme. Option D is wrong because SEBI regulates the securities market, mutual funds and stock exchanges, and has no role in any of the three Jan Suraksha schemes.

The correct answer is B, Above Rupees 50,000 and up to Rupees 5 lakh. MUDRA loans are classified purely by size, and Kishore is the middle rung meant for an enterprise that is already working and needs working capital or a modest expansion. Option A is wrong because loans up to fifty thousand rupees fall under Shishu, the first rung, meant for very small or early-stage activity. Option C is wrong because loans above five lakh and up to ten lakh rupees fall under Tarun, for an enterprise scaling up its operations or buying equipment. Option D is wrong because loans above ten lakh and up to twenty lakh rupees fall under Tarun Plus, the category created after the ceiling was raised in the Union Budget of 2024-25, and it is open only to borrowers who have already taken and repaid a Tarun loan.

The correct answer is B, Rupees 10 lakh to Rupees 1 crore. Stand Up India, launched on 5 April 2016, asks every bank branch to finance at least one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower with a loan between ten lakh rupees and one crore rupees for a greenfield enterprise, that is a first-time venture by that borrower, in manufacturing, services, trading or allied agricultural activities. Option A is wrong because fifty thousand rupees to ten lakh rupees describes the original MUDRA ladder, not Stand Up India. Option C is wrong because one crore rupees is the upper limit of this scheme and not its lower limit. Option D is wrong because the scheme's floor is ten lakh rupees and its ceiling is one crore rupees, so neither end of this range matches.

The correct answer is C, Rupees 10,000. A Jan Dhan account carries an overdraft facility of up to ten thousand rupees, which lets the holder draw a small amount beyond the balance in the account and is in effect an unsecured consumption loan from the bank. Option A is wrong because two thousand rupees has never been the overdraft limit under this scheme. Option B is wrong because five thousand rupees was the original limit at launch in 2014; it was doubled to ten thousand rupees when the mission was made open-ended in 2018, so five thousand is the outdated figure that many older notes still print. Option D is wrong because twenty-five thousand rupees is well beyond the limit; the facility is deliberately small because it is granted without security to an account that may have little transaction history.

The correct answer is A, Nil. The Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account, introduced by the Reserve Bank in 2012 in place of the earlier no-frills account, carries no minimum balance requirement whatsoever, and that is its defining feature. The holder also gets a free debit card, free deposits of any number, and a set number of free withdrawals every month, and the bank cannot levy a charge for not maintaining a balance. Option B is wrong because five hundred rupees is a common minimum for an ordinary savings account in some banks, not for a BSBDA. Option C is wrong for the same reason, as one thousand rupees is a typical urban branch minimum for a regular savings account. Option D is wrong because five thousand rupees is a metro branch minimum in some banks and has nothing to do with this account.

The correct answer is A, PM SVANidhi. The PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi, launched on 1 June 2020 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is meant only for street vendors. It gives a first collateral-free working capital loan of ten thousand rupees, larger tranches on timely repayment, and an interest subsidy of seven per cent credited to the borrower's account. Option B is wrong because Stand Up India finances greenfield enterprises of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and women borrowers between ten lakh rupees and one crore rupees, a far larger scale. Option C is wrong because MUDRA covers non-farm micro and small enterprises generally and is not confined to vendors, although a vendor may also borrow under it. Option D is wrong because the Atal Pension Yojana is a pension scheme and lends nothing at all.

The correct answer is B, C. Rangarajan. The Committee on Financial Inclusion chaired by C. Rangarajan submitted its report in 2008 and gave the definition of financial inclusion that policy documents still quote, as the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit to vulnerable groups at an affordable cost. Option A is wrong because Nachiket Mor chaired the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households, which reported in 2014 and proposed differentiated banks. Option C is wrong because Raghuram Rajan chaired the Committee on Financial Sector Reforms, which reported in 2009, and later served as Governor of the Reserve Bank. Option D is wrong because Deepak Mohanty chaired the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion, which reported in 2015.