RAS question
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched in the year:
Correct answer: (B) 2014.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched on 28 August 2014 as a national mission for financial inclusion.
Explanation
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana belongs to India’s financial inclusion agenda, so the date matters more than as a bare chronology fact. The Prime Minister launched the scheme across the country on 28 August 2014 for opening bank accounts as a national mission for financial inclusion. Its basic design was to bring unbanked citizens into formal banking through basic accounts with zero balance, RuPay debit cards and insurance cover. PMJDY accounts were also linked with enrolment in social security schemes, which reinforces why the scheme is treated as a banking-access intervention rather than only a subsidy programme.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2013 is too early because PMJDY was launched after the new government took office, with the official launch recorded on 28 August 2014.
- (C) 2015 is too late because the scheme had already been launched across the country on 28 August 2014.
- (D) 2016 is too late because PMJDY was already an established financial-inclusion scheme by then, having begun in August 2014.
Concept
This tests welfare and financial inclusion schemes in Indian Economy. RAS repeats such questions because launch years, target groups and implementation purpose help distinguish flagship Union schemes in prelims.