Govt completes transfer of first installment of Rs 500 to 20 cr women Jan Dhan accounts

The government has completed transfer of first installment of Rs 500 to about 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders, as part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month, sources said.

The minister had said as many of 20.5 crore women Jan Dhan account holders will get Rs 500 per month for next three months to run their households, a move aimed at mitigating the hardships caused by the lockdown.

The money has reached each and every account and the beneficiary can withdraw as per their needs keeping social distancing norm in the mind, sources said.

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In order to maintain social distancing and to ensure orderly withdrawal of money by the beneficiaries, Indian Banks' Association(IBA) has designed a schedule to be followed by all banks for the month of April. The transfer was staggered over 5 days to avoid rush at bank branches.

As per the schedule, women Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account holders having account number with last digit as 0 and 1 received money in their accounts on April 3, while account numbers ending with 2 or 3 got it on April 4.

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On April 7, beneficiaries with account number ending with 4 or 5 were to collect their money, IBA said.

The last tranche would be remitted on April 9 for account number ending with 8 or 9, it said.

It further said beneficiaries may withdraw any day at their convenience after April 9.

Two more installments of Rs 500 will be remitted to the women Jan Dhan accounts in May and June.