Urging people not to believe in the rumours, the Finance Ministry on April 9 said ₹500 has been deposited in each Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account held by women for April and ₹1,000 more will be given over the next two months in equal instalments.
Meanwhile, State-owned SBI, which has the highest number of PMJDY accounts, asked the beneficiaries not to believe in the rumours that the money would be taken away by the government if not withdrawn, amid large numbers of people flocking banks.
As a result of this, there are rush at bank branches leading to violation of social-distancing norms.
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) in a tweet said the government has deposited ₹500 in the PMJDY accounts held by women for April and beneficiaries could withdraw it “any time”.
“This amount [₹500] has reached your bank account and you can withdraw it any time,” it said, and added ₹500 will also be deposited during May as well in June.
The DFS, in the Finance Ministry, also asked the beneficiaries not to believe in the rumours and that they can withdraw the amount from ATMs, customer service points or banks as per their convenience.
Of the total 38.08 crore accounts under the PMJDY scheme, as many as 20.60 crore were held by women. As on April 1, the deposits in the PMJDY accounts stood at over ₹1.19 lakh crore.
State Bank of India further said, “We would like to assure our customers that the funds in your account will not be blocked or returned to the government.”
The country’s largest lender also asked the PMJDY account holders to withdraw money at their convenience anytime.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this as part of the ₹1.70-lakh crore relief package announced last month.
The Minister had said as many as 20.5 crore women Jan Dhan account holders will get ₹500 per month for next three months to run their households, a move aimed at mitigating the hardships caused by the lockdown, announced in the wake of coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
