Nearly one in four accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is inoperative, while 5.72 crore accounts have zero balance, according to data provided by the Department of Financial Services in response to an RTI application.
The data showed that 5,72,35,490 accounts had zero balance, while 15,36,77,009 accounts were classified as inoperative.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of zero-balance accounts at 95.92 lakh, followed by Bihar with 62.35 lakh, West Bengal with 37.20 lakh, Assam with 36.30 lakh and Maharashtra with 36.04 lakh.
The highest number of inoperative accounts was also reported from Uttar Pradesh at 3.23 crore, followed by Bihar (1.59 crore), Madhya Pradesh (1.35 crore), West Bengal (1.02 crore) and Maharashtra (97.94 lakh).
Uttar Pradesh had the highest overall number of PMJDY accounts at 10.51 crore, followed by Bihar (7.01 crore), West Bengal (5.73 crore), Rajasthan (3.87 crore) and Maharashtra (3.85 crore).
The RTI reply, dated September 1, said the Centre does not centrally maintain gender-wise data on account balances, zero-balance accounts or inoperative accounts.
It also said data on accounts holding less than Rs 100, accounts closed during the past five years, and accounts blocked or frozen over suspicious transactions or cyber fraud was not maintained centrally.
