Open 'Jan Dhan' Bank Account by Just Submitting 2 Photos: Finance Ministry

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Monday said people who do not have officially valid documents or Aadhaar numbers can open bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) by submitting two copies of signed photographs at the bank branch.

"RBI has issued guidelines dated August 26, 2014, where people who do not have officially valid documents or Aadhaar numbers can still get bank accounts opened by submitting two copies of signed photographs at the bank branch," an official statement said.

However, it said these accounts will be called 'small accounts', shall normally be valid for 12 months and shall be continued subject to showing of proof that the holder has applied for any of the officially valid document within 12 months of opening of such an account.

These accounts have certain limitations such as balance at any point of time should not exceed Rs 50,000, total credit in one year should not exceed Rs 1 lakh, and total withdrawal should not exceed Rs 10,000 in a month, the statement further said.

It also said the existing account holder need not open another bank account to avail of benefits under the Jan Dhan financial inclusion scheme. As of today, 4.18 crore accounts have been opened under the scheme.

"In fact insurance benefits are available through the RuPay Card. The existing account holders can submit an application to the concerned branch to enable them to get a RuPay Debit Card in order to avail of the benefits of insurance under PMJDY," it said.

Micro credit limit of Rs 5,000 can also be extended in existing bank accounts on application depending on the satisfactory conduct of the account, the statement said.

The statement said that there had been complaints from some places about the availability of the account opening forms due to huge rush and certain people taking advantage of such a situation.

In view of this, an advertisement has been issued in all major newspapers where the account opening form has been published, the statement noted.

It said anybody desirous of opening an account can come and take this application form to the nearest bank branch/bank mitr for opening the account.

This one-page account opening form is also available on the department's website - www.financialservices.gov.in, it added.