Agartala: All families across Tripura have been covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a national mission of financial inclusion of all households in the country, a top government official said here Saturday.

“Till last month (Nov), over 200,000 new bank accounts have been opened under the PMJDY. Thus, all the households in Tripura have been covered under the scheme,” Tripura finance secretary Ashutosh Jindal told.

Earlier, banks along with the district administrations identified the families who did not possess a bank account. Then the nationalised and regional rural banks secured accounts for those families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech announced PMJDY.

Under the PMJDY, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities. This plan would help them come out of the grip of money lenders, keep them away from financial crises brought about by emergency needs, and most importantly, benefit them with a range of financial products, including overdraft.

Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) chairman Upendra Sabar said that each account holder under the PMJDY would be provided an overdraft facility of up to Rs 5,000 after six months of satisfactory operation of the account.

A maximum interest rate of 12-percent would be charged for the overdraft payment.

With regard to the overdraft facility and other benefits of the scheme, women would get the priority. Existing bank account holders would also get the similar facilities available under PMJDY, the TGB chief told reporters.

The official said that both nationalised and private banks could operate accounts under PMJDY.

In accordance with the scheme, every account holder gets a debit card called ‘RuPay’ card with a Rs.1 lakh insurance cover.