Covid-19 crisis: Only 46% women with Jan Dhan accounts withdrew money

Though women holding Jan Dhan accounts have already received two instalments of Rs 500 from the government as part of the Covid-19 relief package, only about 46 per cent have withdrawn the money, as of May 20. The government is transferring the money, amounting to Rs 20,000 crore, to women who hold the no-frills bank account over the months of April, May, and June. 

The slow pace of withdrawals confirms what Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das stated in his monetary policy statement on Friday: “Private consumption has suffered a precipitous decline.” 

The low level of withdrawals has surprised