Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, the government started the PMJDY so that every poor person could have a bank account and a RuPay card. While addressing a public meeting in Killa , Gomati district on her second day visit to the state the Finance Minister said, through PMJDY, during the lockdown last year, the government could transfer Rs 1,500 directly to the accounts of women.
She accompanied by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma and MLA Rampada Jamatia.
“Out of every 100 Jan Dhan accounts, 55 belong to women. The main beneficiaries of PMJDY are women. In those areas where bank branches are not possible, the Bank Mitras do the job of providing banking services”, she said.
Sitharaman also in a programme inaugurated an ambitious project “My Pad My Right’ in Killa village. The MPMR is a unique initiative of NABARD and NABFOUNDATION in an attempt to bring livelihoods and menstrual hygiene closer to rural women by way of grant, wage support and capital equipment. Under the MPMR project, SHGs are given one sanitary pad making machine, raw materials for two months, wages for 50 days, packaging materials for two months & other accessories, and also five days training in three phases.
Apart from the MPMR, the Union Finance Minister also flagged off a mobile ATM van of Tripura State Co Operative Bank Ltd in Killa which coincided the 7th anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
The mobile ATM van will cover all gram panchayats/village committees of South Tripura District. It supports ATM cards of all banks. It is fitted with an LED TV for demonstration of digital financial literacy related videos and promotion of different banking products.
She had also interacted with women Self Help Groups (SHG) members trained in handicrafts under Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDP) of NABARD.
The SHGs had been receiving various benefits under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana. Recently, the limit of collateral free lending to SHGs was increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
Sitharaman also offered puja at the Tripura Sundari Temple or Matabari in Udaipur during her visit and gave foods too the fish and tortoises there at Kalyan Sagar.
