NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday asked finance ministry officials to expedite the task of activating about seven crore dormant Jan Dhan bank accounts to ensure that no one is deprived of getting government benefits, sources said.The accounts have become dormant because of no transaction and these include zero balance accounts as well. According to reports, finance minister Arun Jaitley had recently said that zero balance accounts have come down to 20% from 77% in three years. Government data show 30.26 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened till September 20.Sources said the department of financial services shared a detailed presentation on the Jan Dhan accounts, including the dormant ones, during the monthly web-based interaction of the PM with secretaries and state chief secretaries (known as PRAGATI) on Wednesday. "The PM asked the secretary, financial services, to look at ways to increase the use of RuPay debit cards that have been issued to Jan Dhan account holders. The PM reviewed the progress of development of heritage cities by urban affairs ministry.PM Modi also reviewed the progress of nine infrastructure projects including the India Myanmar Friendship Bridge.

Source: Times of India September 27, 2017 23:26 UTC