New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that there is no need to maintain a minimum balance in Jan Dhan and basic savings accounts. Banks impose fines only in cases where customers fail to maintain the required balance in their other accounts. The Finance Minister was answering a supplementary question during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha regarding the recovery of a penalty of about Rs 8,500 crore by public sector banks from customers for not maintaining the minimum balance in accounts in five years.
Sitharaman said, “…The provision of keeping a minimum balance in the bank account does not apply to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan accounts and basic accounts of poor people. It is only for those whose minimum balance is expected to be at a certain level.” In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, it was revealed that public sector banks recovered about Rs 8,500 crore in this item in five years from FY 2019-20. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary also told the Lok Sabha last month that public sector banks recovered Rs 2,331 crore from depositors as a penalty for not maintaining the average monthly minimum balance in the accounts in the financial year 2023-24.