Parliament Question: Financial inclusion and credit access for urban poor in Patna

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1997 ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, 10 MARCH 2026/ 19 PHALGUNA, 1947 (SAKA) FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND CREDIT ACCESS FOR URBAN POOR IN PATNA 1997. SHRI AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state: (a) whether a significant number of urban poor, street vendors and informal workers in Patna remain outside formal banking, insurance and credit systems; (b) the number of beneficiaries covered under PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) in Patna district; (c) whether issues relating to dormant accounts, limited financial literacy and restricted access to institutional credit have been identified; and (d) the steps taken to strengthen financial inclusion and expand affordable credit access for vulnerable urban populations in Bihar? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d) The Government initiated the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI), in August, 2014 to provide universal banking services for every unbanked household based on the guiding principles of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded. In order to give impetus to financial inclusion initiatives of the Government, PMJDY was extended beyond 14.08.2018 with the focus on opening of accounts shifting from “every household” to “every unbanked adult”. For the purpose of securing the unsecured, various social security schemes launched by the Government inter-alia are as under: i. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)- Provides life insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh for death due to any reason; ii. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)- Provides one-year accidental cover of Rs. 2 lakh (death or permanent total disability) and Rs. 1 lakh (permanent partial disability); iii. Atal Pension Yojana (APY)- Provides monthly pension to eligible subscribers. Further, with the objective of “Funding the Unfunded’’, the credit linked schemes launched by the Government, inter-alia, are as under- i. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)- Provides collateral-free institutional finance to micro/small business units upto Rs.10 lakh for income generating activities in the sectors such as manufacturing, trading, services and activities allied to agriculture.ii. Stand Up India Scheme (SUPI) – Provides loans to Scheduled Caste / Schedule Tribe and Women entrepreneurs for setting up greenfield projects in the sectors such as manufacturing, trading, services and activities allied to agriculture. iii. PM Vishwakarma Scheme, launched on 17.09.2023, aims to provide end-to-end holistic support to traditional artists and craftspeople engaged in 18 identified trades through access to skill training, collateral-free credit, modern tools, market linkage support and incentive for digital transactions. iv. Prime Minister Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi) was launched on June 01, 2020. The Scheme envisages empowering street vendors by not only extending loans to them but also for their holistic economic development. The number of beneficiaries under the PMJDY, PMJJBY & PMSBY schemes in Patna District are as under: PMJDY Accounts PMJJBY Enrolments PMSBY Enrolments 30,63,138 11,27,552 23,73,471 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) undertakes various awareness measures and initiatives among the members of public thereby promoting financial literacy. Some of the initiatives taken by RBI inter- alia include initiatives such as Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL), Financial Awareness Message (FAME) booklet, Financial Literacy Week (FLW), Camps by rural bank branches etc. Further, Banks continuously make concerted efforts to monitor the percentage of operative accounts by organising camps to create awareness about banking habits including the benefits of keeping the account active. It has been the endeavour of the Government to increase deepening of financial inclusion in the country. Banks, under the aegis of SLBCs/ UTLBCs regularly conduct financial inclusion outreach programmes which include initiatives for financial literacy sessions, awareness events on safe digital payments, etc. Banks and Urban Local Bodies, along with other financial institutions are taking various steps to deepen financial inclusion in urban areas of Bihar, which, inter-alia, include Financial Literacy Programmes by different Banks and other financial institutions with the help of the Banking Correspondent (BC) channel and the Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs). A national level saturation campaign for saturation of FI Schemes at gram panchayat level was held from 01st July to 31st October, 2025, under which 8,095 saturation camps were held in Bihar. ****