RBI puts Rs.10k withdrawal limit on Jan Dhan accounts

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Wednesday that withdrawals from Jan Dhan bank accounts will be limited to Rs.10,000 a month for the time being. The regulatory authority called it ‘a move to protect farmers and other innocent people from money launderers.’

The account holders can be allowed withdrawals of more than Rs.10,000 only when the banks established the authenticity of cases and document them in records.

Limited or non-KYC compliant account holders will only be allowed to withdraw Rs.5,000 per month from the money deposited by them through new banknotes after November 9, from within the total limit of Rs 10,000.

The decision comes as a result of the reports in the media that after the ban on banknotes of Rs.500 and Rs. 1,000 on November 8, several inactive accounts which were opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in nationalised banks, saw a spurt in accounts having lot of money.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the PMJDY scheme in 2014 as a major initiative towards the financial inclusion and banking services for lakhs of people.

After the announcement on notes ban, deposits in accounts under PMJDY rose sharply by about Rs.27,200 crore in only 14 days. The deposits crossed over Rs.70,000 crore in more than 25 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts. The deposits in these bank accounts on November 9 stood at Rs.45,636 crore.

Prime Minister Modi on Sunday warned that those people who are using the poor to park their illegal money, strict action would be taken under stringent laws dealing with proxy or 'benami' transactions.