Moving Ahead Through Financial Inclusion Towards Inclusive Growth: A Study of Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in Panchkula District, Haryana State, India

Financial Inclusion provides effective and convenient approach to continous banking and financial services to underprivileged population. To attain Universal Financial Inclusion, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was introduced by Indian Government in 2014. Although PMJDY is termed as the world’s biggest financial inclusion initiative, its implementation too faced a lot of issues. Therefore, the present study aims at assessing the problems in the implementation of PMJDY in both rural and urban areas of Panchkula District, Haryana, India. The objectives of the study are to examine the problems of adequacy of banking infrastructure and usage of technology and also offers solutions for the same. The study is based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected from a sample of 200 beneficiaries (100 each from rural and urban area) using simple random sampling. The results of the study found out that the problem of uneven distribution of bank branches, unfriendly banking staff, inadequate electricity and inadequacy of internet are more acute in rural segments as to urban areas. The study concluded by stating that adequate distribution of bank branches, sufficient banking infrastructure, extension of digital technology and financial literacy can help in realising Financial Inclusion.