Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced three flagship social security schemes, including an insurance cover for less than Re 1 per day, while choosing to launch the ambitious programme from a dais shared by bitter critic and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Invoking words of Rabindra Nath Tagore and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Modi said “what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow” and added that the process of development would be incomplete if it did not reach the poor.
The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year life cover of Rs 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs 330 per annum.
The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year accidental death-cum-disability cover of Rs 2 lakh for partial/permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of Rs 12 per annum per subscriber.
Atal Pension Yojana will focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers a fixed minimum pension of Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 per month, starting at the age of 60 years, depending on the contribution option exercised on entering at an age between 18 and 40 years.
Listing the success of Jan Dhan scheme, Modi said that 15 crore bank accounts have been opened since August 15 last year and Rs 15,800 crore has been deposited there.
“Now 95 per cent of the poor are covered under the proper banking sector,” he said, adding it was the inspiration for doing more for them and therefore he was launching the ‘Jan Suraksha’ social security schemes.
Modi said that the schemes have been announced targeting 80 per cent of the people who are not covered by any social security measure.
The Prime Minister also urged people to pay small premiums towards insurance schemes for their domestic helps, drivers, and liftmen, among others.
He further said it was heartening to learn that already under the programme 5.5 crore enrolments were done. The schemes would come into effect from June 1, 2015.
“I told the poor, this nation, this government and our banks are for you… poor do not want ‘sahara’. We need to change how we think. The poor need ‘shakti’,” he said.
Modi said the success of the Jan-Dhan scheme demonstrated the power of the poor who desisted from maintaining zero balance accounts and instead deposited cash in those.
n Contd on page 9