Does ideology matter in governance? Yes, it does. A case in point is the Jan Dhan Yojana, which marks 12 years this Independence Day and has served the cause of Antyodaya, a concept propounded by both Mahatma Gandhi and Deendayal Upadhyaya. Simply put, it means that the most deprived should be considered the most deserving when it comes to the distribution of the fruits of development.

Independence Day is usually understood in political terms. India became a sovereign republic, established democratic institutions and introduced universal suffrage. But political independence alone does not guarantee economic liberty. For millions of Indians, even decades after 1947, the formal financial system remained distant. A bank account, formal credit, insurance or a reliable channel to receive government support could not be taken for granted. Add to this the menace of pilferage, and the systemic failure is complete. No wonder a former Prime Minister had to admit that when a rupee was sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reached the recipient.

The vision

On August 15, 2014, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the newly elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, made financial inclusion part of his Independence Day address.

Among several major announcements made during the address, he announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The idea sounded simple: every household in India should have access to a bank account, a RuPay debit card and insurance cover. At Vigyan Bhawan on August 28, during the launch of the PMJDY implementation, Mr. Modi quoted Chanakya: Sukhasya moolam dharmah — the root of happiness is dharma; Dharmasya moolam artha — the root of dharma is artha; and Arthasya moolam rajyam — the root of artha is the state. The argument was that economic means are fundamental to human well-being and, therefore, creating access to those means is also a responsibility of the state.

The bank account was not simply another government benefit; rather, it was an entry point into the formal economy. The PMJDY, therefore, deserves to be viewed through the lens of Independence Day and the Prime Minister’s thought leadership. India’s first independence was about freeing the country from colonial rule. The second challenge was to build a state in which freedom could actually be exercised by ordinary citizens. If a citizen cannot access formal finance, receive money directly, save securely or establish a connection with the institutions through which economic opportunity flows, political freedom remains incomplete in a very practical sense.

The PMJDY attempted to address one part of that gap.

The numbers tell a story

The architecture also reflected the idea of Antyodaya: the last person in the queue should not remain outside the system. A zero-balance account meant that having little money was no longer, in principle, a reason to remain outside the banking system. A RuPay card and an overdraft facility were intended to make the account something that could actually be used.

Financial inclusion is not merely about opening accounts; it is about becoming part of a system of savings, payments, credit, insurance and economic opportunity. Twelve years later, the scale of that first step is difficult to ignore. By July 2026, the PMJDY had crossed 58 crore accounts, with deposits running into ₹3 lakh crore. More than half of the accounts are held by women, while roughly three-fourths are in rural and semi-urban areas.

But Jan Dhan’s real significance lies beyond the account numbers. It became the first layer of the larger JAM trinity architecture: Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile. Once citizens had bank accounts connected to digital identity and mobile infrastructure, the government had a much more direct channel through which benefits could reach them. This transformed the possibilities of Direct Benefit Transfer. The same infrastructure eventually became part of India’s broader digital public infrastructure, alongside systems such as UPI. A bank account opened under Jan Dhan became part of an increasingly digital financial ecosystem. A woman who entered the formal banking system through a Jan Dhan account in 2014 and a merchant accepting a UPI payment in France or the other countries it can be used in, in 2026, may appear to belong to two different stories. In reality, they are connected by the same financial infrastructure built over the past decade.

An account, an identity

More importantly, a bank account also became a solid symbol of identity — something that faceless people from marginalised sections could rarely have. It served as a form of “recognition with respect” offered by the system. Financial democracy through Jan Dhan made those on the periphery visible, counted and, importantly, proudly identified.

Sixty-seven years after Independence, in 2014, the Prime Minister used the country’s most symbolic political stage to speak about financial, digital literacy and inclusivity. Jan Dhan followed by UPI has now become a story of our everyday lives.

The “Mera khaata, bhagya vidhata (My account, the destiny maker”) tagline for Jan Dhan remains true as it shapes the destiny of Viksit Bharat 2047 by financial inclusivity and opportunities ahead.

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is Member, NEC, Bharatiya Janata Party, Vice-Chairman, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mumbai and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Viraj Paranjape is CFSS Fellow, Bengaluru

Published - August 15, 2026 12:08 am IST