India achieves near-universal banking coverage, with 99.92% of inhabited villages now served by a banking outlet

The Ministry of Finance announced that 99.92% of inhabited villages (600,868 of 601,328) now have a banking outlet—branch, Business Correspondent or India Post Payments Bank—within 5 km, based on data uploaded on the Jan Dhan Darshak app. This coverage is backed by over 1.81 lakh bank branches, 17.36 lakh Business Correspondents and 1.65 lakh IPPB centres as of 17 July 2026. RBI has allowed banks to open branches anywhere without prior approval, provided 25 % are in unbanked rural areas, and State‑level Bankers’ Committees oversee rollout. There are 58.77 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts holding ₹3,12,414 crore. The government and RBI have also introduced cyber‑security measures such as the India Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation, Master Directions on Digital Payment Security Controls, and AI‑based tools like ‘MuleHunter’.