New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched six years ago on this day has been a game-changer.

"Today, six years ago, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with an ambitious aim of banking the unbanked. This initiative has been a game-changer, serving as the foundation for many poverty alleviation initiatives, benefitting crores of people," the Prime Minister tweeted.

PMJDY under the National Mission for Financial Inclusion was launched initially for a period of four years (in two phases) on August 28, 2014.

It envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension.

The scheme has provided a platform for the three social security schemes --Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

The Government decided to extend the comprehensive PMJDY program beyond August 28, 2018 with the change in focus on opening accounts from 'every household' to 'every adult'.

As per the government plan, new modifications in the scheme include Existing Over Draft (OD) limit of Rs 5,000 revised to Rs 10,000, no conditions attached for active PMJDY accounts availing OD up to Rs 2,000, the age limit for availing OD facility revised from 18-60 years to 18-65 years.

Besides, the accident insurance cover for new RuPay card holders was raised from existing Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh to new PMJDY accounts opened after August 28, 2018. Over 40.35 crore beneficiaries have been banked so far under the scheme and Rs 1,30,701.05 crore balance is in beneficiary accounts.