Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that financial inclusion has become a reality for 1.3 billion Indians.

In a series of tweets, the Minister said that for Odisha alone benefits worth 60,865 crore rupees have been transferred directly to the beneficiary accounts under more than 65 Government of India schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and others.

Stating that Jan Dhan Yojana has been serving the banking needs of Odisha’s unbanked, Mr. Pradhan said that more than 1.5 crore poor people covering more than 74 lakh households in the state have benefited from the scheme.

Describing MUDRA Yojana as another strategic tool for financial inclusion and strengthening micro enterprises, Mr. Pradhan said that the scheme has empowered more than 41 lakh people in Odisha.