New Delhi, Sept 7:
Nearly one in every four accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is currently classified as inoperative, while more than 5.72 crore accounts have a zero balance, according to data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application.
As of August 12, 2026, the country had 59,03,74,907 Jan Dhan accounts holding a combined balance of Rs 3,15,179.90 crore, the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance said in its response to activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur.
The data showed that 15,36,77,009 accounts were classified as inoperative, accounting for about 26 per cent of the total. Another 5,72,35,490 accounts had zero balance.
The PMJDY was launched in August 2014 as the National Mission for Financial Inclusion, with the objective of providing universal access to basic banking facilities, financial literacy and social security cover.
Women account holders, including transgender account holders, accounted for 32.89 crore of the total accounts, while men held 26.14 crore accounts.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of zero-balance Jan Dhan 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 state-wise figures also showed that Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of inoperative accounts at 3.23 crore. Bihar followed with 1.59 crore, Madhya Pradesh with 1.35 crore, West Bengal with 1.02 crore and Maharashtra with 97.94 lakh.
Uttar Pradesh also topped the country in terms of the overall number of Jan Dhan accounts, with 10.51 crore, followed by Bihar with 7.01 crore, West Bengal with 5.73 crore, Rajasthan with 3.87 crore and Maharashtra with 3.85 crore.
The RTI response, dated September 1, said the Centre did not centrally maintain gender-wise details of balances held in Jan Dhan accounts, zero-balance accounts or inoperative accounts.
It also said information on accounts holding less than Rs 100, accounts closed during the previous five years and accounts blocked or frozen because of suspicious transactions or cyber fraud was not centrally maintained.
The figures supplied under the RTI covered all 36 States and Union Territories.