Judiciary & Legal System — Supreme Court & Justice

Why This Chapter Matters

Government schemes are the single most predictable topic in IBPS and SBI Clerk General Awareness papers, worth five to seven marks in most recent papers, because these schemes are literally what bank branches implement every working day. A candidate who cannot name the launch year of Jan Dhan Yojana or the insurance cover under Suraksha Bima Yojana is, in the examiner's eyes, someone who hasn't paid attention to the job they're applying for.

This chapter covers the flagship financial inclusion schemes in the order that makes them stick: account access first, then credit, then insurance, then pension, then enterprise support. The single biggest mistake aspirants make is mixing up the tiny annual premiums and cover amounts across the three insurance-pension schemes (Suraksha Bima, Jeevan Jyoti, Atal Pension). They sound similar, target similar low-income groups, and get tested precisely because they're similar. Build a clean table in your head as you read, and revisit the Memory Tables section at the end until the numbers stop blurring together.

1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is the foundation scheme of India's financial inclusion push, launched on 28 August 2014. Its objective is simple and ambitious: ensure every Indian household has access to a basic bank account, ending the era where lakhs of families had no formal banking relationship at all and kept whatever savings they had under a mattress or with informal moneylenders.

Think of PMJDY as laying the plumbing before the water can flow. Without a bank account, no subsidy transfer, no insurance product, and no pension scheme can reach a person directly. Every other scheme in this chapter depends on PMJDY accounts existing first.

Key features: PMJDY accounts can be opened with zero balance, meaning there's no minimum balance requirement, a deliberate design choice to remove the biggest barrier poor households faced with regular savings accounts. Every account holder gets a RuPay debit card with built-in accident insurance cover. Account holders also get access to an overdraft facility up to a specified limit once the account has operated satisfactorily for a period, giving small credit access without collateral. PMJDY accounts are also the primary channel for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of government subsidies, cutting out middlemen who used to skim welfare payments before they reached beneficiaries.

Exam trap: Students often think PMJDY itself provides life insurance. It doesn't directly; PMJDY provides the account and an accident cover through the RuPay card. Life insurance and additional accident cover come through the separate schemes covered later in this chapter (Jeevan Jyoti Bima and Suraksha Bima), which a Jan Dhan account holder can then opt into.

2. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, launched on 8 April 2015, addresses the credit gap for small, non-corporate businesses, the kind of micro-enterprise that never qualifies for a traditional bank loan because it lacks collateral or a formal credit history: a roadside tailor, a small dairy farmer, a tea stall owner.

MUDRA loans are collateral-free and disbursed through banks, NBFCs, and microfinance institutions, but the loans themselves are categorised under three tiers based on the growth stage of the business, a structure that's easy to remember once you picture a child growing up.

Memory hook: "Shishu grows to Kishore, then to Tarun." These three Hindi words literally mean infant, adolescent, and youth, mapping neatly onto the size of loan a business needs at each stage.

• Shishu: loans up to ₹50,000, for the newest, smallest enterprises just starting out.
• Kishore: loans from ₹50,001 to ₹5 lakh, for businesses that have some track record and need to scale.
• Tarun: loans from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, for more established micro-enterprises ready to expand further.

A further tier, Tarun Plus, was added later for loans above ₹10 lakh up to ₹20 lakh for entrepreneurs who have previously availed and successfully repaid a Tarun loan.

MUDRA loans are extended under the umbrella of MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Ltd, a subsidiary set up for refinancing the lending institutions, not a direct lender to the public. You, as a future bank employee, would sanction a MUDRA loan at your branch counter; MUDRA Ltd works behind the scenes refinancing your bank.

3. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, launched on 13 January 2016, is India's crop insurance scheme, protecting farmers against yield losses from natural calamities, pests, and diseases. Agriculture in India is still heavily monsoon-dependent, and a single bad season can wipe out a farming family's entire year of income; PMFBY exists to soften exactly that blow.

The scheme's headline feature is its low, uniform premium structure: farmers pay just 2% of the sum insured for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for annual commercial and horticultural crops. The government subsidises the remaining actuarial premium, sharing the burden between the Centre and the concerned state.

PMFBY uses technology for faster claim settlement, including smartphone-based crop-cutting experiments and satellite imagery to assess losses more quickly than the old manual survey methods, which often left farmers waiting months for a payout they needed immediately after a bad harvest.

Exam trap: Do not confuse PMFBY with the Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS), an older, related but distinct scheme that pays out based on weather parameters (rainfall, temperature) rather than actual measured crop yield. PMFBY primarily uses yield-based assessment; WBCIS uses weather-parameter triggers. Both can run alongside each other in different states, which is exactly why the exam likes to test the distinction.

4. Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

Atal Pension Yojana, launched on 9 May 2015, targets the enormous unorganised sector workforce, people like domestic workers, street vendors, and daily-wage labourers, who have no employer-run pension scheme to fall back on in old age.

APY guarantees a fixed monthly pension after age 60, with the subscriber choosing a pension amount at the time of joining: ₹1,000, ₹2,000, ₹3,000, ₹4,000, or ₹5,000 per month. The contribution amount during the working years depends on the subscriber's age at entry and the pension amount chosen; the younger you join, the smaller your monthly contribution, because your money has longer to compound.

Eligibility requires the subscriber to be between 18 and 40 years of age at the time of joining, and hold a savings bank account. Contributions typically continue until the subscriber turns 60, at which point the guaranteed pension begins.

If the subscriber dies before age 60, the spouse can continue the scheme or receive the accumulated corpus. If both subscriber and spouse die, the nominee receives the pension wealth accumulated up to age 60.

Exam trap: APY is not means-tested by income at entry in the same explicit way some other schemes are, but it is specifically designed and marketed for the unorganised sector; do not confuse it with the National Pension System (NPS), a broader, market-linked pension scheme without a guaranteed fixed payout, open to a much wider set of subscribers including government and private-sector employees.

5. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, launched on 9 May 2015 alongside APY and Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, is an accident insurance scheme, not a life insurance scheme in the general sense; it pays out specifically for accidental death or disability, not death from illness or natural causes.

The premium is strikingly low: originally ₹12 per year, later revised to ₹20 per year, auto-debited from the subscriber's bank account. The cover provides ₹2 lakh for accidental death or full (permanent) disability, and ₹1 lakh for partial permanent disability.

Eligibility runs from 18 to 70 years of age, with a bank account and auto-debit consent required. This wide age band is a distinguishing feature; it's meant to be accessible to nearly all working-age and even elderly bank account holders, unlike APY, which closes its entry window at 40.

6. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, also launched on 9 May 2015, is the life insurance counterpart to PMSBY. It pays out on death from any cause, not just accidents, which is the key structural difference between these two schemes and the exact distinction examiners love to test.

The premium was originally ₹330 per year, later revised to ₹436 per year, again auto-debited. The cover amount is ₹2 lakh on death of the subscriber, for any reason. Eligibility runs from 18 to 50 years of age, with cover continuing up to age 55 as long as premiums are paid, subject to the subscriber having a bank account and giving auto-debit consent.

Memory hook: think of the names literally. "Suraksha" means protection or safety, evoking accident protection; "Jeevan Jyoti" means "light of life," evoking life itself, hence life insurance covering any cause of death. If you remember the Hindi meaning of each scheme's name, you will never again mix up which one covers accidents only and which one covers any-cause death.

Exam trap: The premium figures (₹20 for PMSBY, ₹436 for PMJJBY) and cover figures (both ₹2 lakh for the primary benefit) are a classic swap trap. Anchor it this way: life cover costs more because life insurance carries a real, non-trivial actuarial risk across a full year regardless of cause, while accident cover is cheaper because fatal accidents are statistically rarer than death from all causes combined.

7. Stand Up India

Stand Up India, launched on 5 April 2016, promotes entrepreneurship among groups historically underrepresented in business ownership. The scheme facilitates bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore for setting up a greenfield enterprise (a fresh, first-time venture, not an expansion of an existing business) in manufacturing, services, or trading.

The scheme specifically targets at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch, a structural requirement meant to ensure genuinely new categories of entrepreneurs get access to formal credit rather than the scheme's benefits concentrating among applicants who could likely have secured a loan anyway.

Every scheduled commercial bank branch is expected to facilitate at least two such loans, reinforcing the "per branch" design that makes this scheme's implementation genuinely widespread rather than concentrated in a few urban centres.

8. Startup India

Startup India, launched on 16 January 2016, is a flagship initiative to build an ecosystem for innovation-driven entrepreneurship, distinct from Stand Up India, which focuses on access to credit for underrepresented groups running fairly conventional businesses. Startup India instead focuses on tax benefits, easier compliance, and funding support for genuinely innovative, scalable ventures.

Recognised startups under this initiative get benefits including income tax exemption for three consecutive years out of their first ten years of incorporation (subject to conditions), exemption from certain labour and environment law inspections for a self-certification period, and easier winding-up procedures if the venture fails. The scheme is administered by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and includes a dedicated Fund of Funds for Startups, routed through SIDBI, to catalyse venture capital investment into the ecosystem rather than the government investing directly in individual startups.

Exam trap: Stand Up India and Startup India are two of the most confused scheme names in the entire exam syllabus purely because of how similar they sound. Anchor the distinction firmly: Stand Up India is about bank loans for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs starting conventional greenfield businesses; Startup India is about tax breaks and an enabling ecosystem for innovative, scalable ventures, open to any founder meeting the innovation criteria.

9. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana and National Rural Livelihoods Mission

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), restructured from an earlier programme and rebranded from 2011 onward, organises rural poor households, especially women, into Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which then access bank credit collectively at low interest rates. This scheme is directly relevant to bank clerks because SHG credit linkage is a core rural banking activity, connecting groups of women who pool small savings together with formal bank loans that a single individual member might never qualify for alone.

10. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, a pension scheme specifically for senior citizens aged 60 and above, was launched to provide an assured return during old age through a scheme administered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Unlike Atal Pension Yojana, which is a savings-accumulation scheme entered during working years, PMVVY works more like an immediate or deferred annuity purchased with a lump sum at retirement, guaranteeing a fixed periodic payout for the policy term.

11. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, launched in 2015 as part of the broader Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, is a small savings scheme aimed at securing the financial future of the girl child. A parent or legal guardian can open the account for a girl child below 10 years of age, and the account matures 21 years from the date of opening or upon the girl's marriage after age 18, whichever is earlier. It offers one of the higher interest rates among small savings instruments, reviewed quarterly by the government, and carries tax benefits under the old tax regime's Section 80C.

12. Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

The Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a credit-linked subsidy scheme, merges two earlier schemes and is implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) as the nodal agency at the national level, working with state-level Khadi and Village Industries Boards and District Industries Centres. PMEGP supports setting up new micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector, offering a margin money subsidy of 15% to 35% depending on the category of beneficiary and the location of the unit (urban or rural), with the balance funded through a bank loan. General category beneficiaries in urban areas receive a lower subsidy percentage than beneficiaries from special categories (SC/ST, women, ex-servicemen, persons with disabilities) or those setting up units in rural areas, a design meant to nudge investment toward under-served groups and geographies.

Exam trap: PMEGP is frequently confused with PMMY (MUDRA) because both fund small enterprises through banks. The distinguishing feature is the subsidy component: PMEGP is a subsidy-linked scheme where a portion of the project cost is a one-time government grant, whereas MUDRA loans are pure collateral-free credit with no built-in subsidy element.

13. Financial Inclusion — The Bigger Picture

All the schemes above serve one connected mission: bring every Indian, especially those in rural areas and the informal economy, into the formal financial system. The pattern across nearly every scheme launched since 2014-15 is consistent: low or zero cost of entry, government subsidy absorbing most of the actuarial or credit risk, and delivery through the banking network, since banks are the last-mile infrastructure the government does not need to build from scratch.

For you as a future bank employee, this is not abstract trivia. These are the products you'll explain to a customer at your counter within your first few months on the job, which is exactly why the exam tests them so heavily and so specifically.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• PMJDY was launched on 28 August 2014 to give every household access to a basic zero-balance bank account.
• PMJDY accounts come with a RuPay debit card carrying built-in accident insurance cover.
• PMMY (MUDRA) was launched on 8 April 2015 for collateral-free loans to micro-enterprises.
• MUDRA loan categories: Shishu (up to ₹50,000), Kishore (₹50,001-₹5 lakh), Tarun (₹5 lakh-₹10 lakh).
• Tarun Plus covers loans above ₹10 lakh up to ₹20 lakh for repeat, successfully-repaid Tarun borrowers.
• PMFBY was launched on 13 January 2016 as India's crop insurance scheme.
• PMFBY farmer premiums: 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for commercial/horticultural crops.
• Atal Pension Yojana (APY) launched 9 May 2015, guarantees fixed pension of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000/month after age 60.
• APY entry age is 18 to 40 years.
• PMSBY (accident insurance) launched 9 May 2015, premium ₹20/year, cover ₹2 lakh (death/full disability).
• PMSBY partial permanent disability cover is ₹1 lakh; eligibility age 18 to 70 years.
• PMJJBY (life insurance, any cause) launched 9 May 2015, premium ₹436/year, cover ₹2 lakh.
• PMJJBY eligibility age is 18 to 50 years, with cover extending to age 55 if premiums continue.
• Stand Up India launched 5 April 2016, loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.
• Stand Up India requires at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower per bank branch.
• Startup India launched 16 January 2016, focused on tax breaks and ecosystem support for innovative ventures.
• Startup India is administered by DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Recognised startups get income tax exemption for 3 consecutive years out of their first ten years.
• DAY-NRLM links rural women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to formal bank credit.
• PMVVY is a senior citizen pension scheme (age 60+) administered by LIC.
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, launched 2015, is for girl children below 10 years of age.
• Sukanya Samriddhi accounts mature 21 years from opening or on marriage after age 18, whichever is earlier.
• MUDRA loans are refinanced through MUDRA Ltd, not disbursed by MUDRA Ltd directly to borrowers.
• PMFBY uses satellite imagery and smartphone-based surveys to speed up claim settlement.
• PMJDY is the base layer enabling Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of government subsidies.
• Both PMSBY and PMJJBY require a bank account with auto-debit consent for the annual premium.
• Stand Up India and Startup India are commonly confused due to similar names but serve different purposes.
• The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative is the broader umbrella under which Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana sits.
• APY's monthly contribution amount depends on the subscriber's age at entry and chosen pension amount.
• Life insurance premium (PMJJBY) is higher than accident insurance premium (PMSBY) for the same ₹2 lakh cover.
• PMEGP is implemented by KVIC and offers a margin money subsidy of 15% to 35%, unlike pure-credit MUDRA loans.

Memory Tables

Table 1: Insurance and Pension Schemes at a Glance

Scheme	Launch Date	Type	Premium/Contribution	Cover / Benefit
PMSBY	9 May 2015	Accident insurance	₹20/year	₹2 lakh death/full disability, ₹1 lakh partial
PMJJBY	9 May 2015	Life insurance (any cause)	₹436/year	₹2 lakh on death
APY	9 May 2015	Pension	Age-dependent monthly contribution	₹1,000-₹5,000/month pension after age 60
PMVVY	Senior citizen scheme	Pension/annuity	Lump sum at entry	Fixed periodic payout, via LIC

Table 2: MUDRA Loan Categories

Category	Loan Amount	Meaning of Name
Shishu	Up to ₹50,000	Infant stage of business
Kishore	₹50,001 to ₹5 lakh	Adolescent stage of business
Tarun	₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh	Youth stage of business
Tarun Plus	Above ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh	For repeat, successfully-repaid Tarun borrowers

Table 3: Scheme Purpose Snapshot

Scheme	Launch Year	Core Purpose
PMJDY	2014	Universal access to basic bank accounts
PMMY	2015	Collateral-free micro-enterprise credit
PMFBY	2016	Crop insurance for farmers
Stand Up India	2016	Bank credit for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs
Startup India	2016	Tax and compliance support for innovative startups
Sukanya Samriddhi	2015	Savings scheme for the girl child

Practice MCQs

Q1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched on which date? (a) 15 August 2014 (b) 28 August 2014 (c) 8 April 2015 (d) 9 May 2015

Q2. Under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, what is the maximum loan amount under the "Shishu" category? (a) ₹25,000 (b) ₹50,000 (c) ₹5 lakh (d) ₹10 lakh

Q3. What is the annual premium under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)? (a) ₹12 (b) ₹20 (c) ₹330 (d) ₹436

Q4. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana provides life cover of what amount on death of the subscriber? (a) ₹1 lakh (b) ₹2 lakh (c) ₹5 lakh (d) ₹10 lakh

Q5. What is the eligible age range for joining Atal Pension Yojana? (a) 18 to 35 years (b) 18 to 40 years (c) 18 to 50 years (d) 18 to 60 years

Q6. Under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, what is the farmer's premium share for Kharif crops? (a) 1.5% (b) 2% (c) 5% (d) 10%

Q7. Stand Up India, launched in 2016, mandates that each bank branch facilitate loans for which combination of borrowers? (a) Two women entrepreneurs only (b) At least one SC/ST and one woman borrower (c) Only minority community entrepreneurs (d) Only first-generation graduates

Q8. Which government body administers Startup India? (a) SEBI (b) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) (c) NITI Aayog (d) Ministry of Finance

Q9. Loans under Stand Up India range between which amounts? (a) ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh (b) ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore (c) ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh (d) ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore

Q10. MUDRA loans are primarily refinanced through which entity? (a) SIDBI directly (b) NABARD (c) MUDRA Ltd (d) RBI

Q11. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana is administered by which institution? (a) SBI (b) LIC (c) NABARD (d) SIDBI

Q12. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts can be opened for a girl child below what age? (a) 5 years (b) 8 years (c) 10 years (d) 12 years

Q13. What is the key difference between PMSBY and PMJJBY? (a) PMSBY covers any cause of death, PMJJBY covers only accidents (b) PMSBY covers accidental death/disability, PMJJBY covers death from any cause (c) Both cover only accidental death (d) Both cover only natural death

Q14. DAY-NRLM primarily works by linking which group to formal bank credit? (a) Urban startups (b) Self-Help Groups of rural women (c) Corporate SMEs (d) Senior citizens

Q15. Recognised startups under Startup India get income tax exemption for how many consecutive years out of their first ten? (a) 1 year (b) 2 years (c) 3 years (d) 5 years

Answer Key

Q	Answer	One-line reason
1	(b)	PMJDY launched on 28 August 2014, the foundational scheme enabling zero-balance bank accounts nationwide.
2	(b)	Shishu loans go up to ₹50,000, the entry-level tier for the newest micro-enterprises.
3	(b)	PMSBY's current annual premium is ₹20, later revised up from its original ₹12.
4	(b)	PMJJBY pays ₹2 lakh on death of the subscriber from any cause, not just accidents.
5	(b)	APY entry age is 18 to 40 years; joining younger means smaller monthly contributions.
6	(b)	Farmers pay just 2% of sum insured for Kharif crops under PMFBY, with government subsidising the rest.
7	(b)	Stand Up India requires at least one SC/ST and one woman borrower per bank branch, ensuring broad-based reach.
8	(b)	Startup India is administered by DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
9	(b)	Stand Up India facilitates loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore for greenfield enterprises.
10	(c)	MUDRA Ltd refinances lending institutions; it does not lend directly to borrowers.
11	(b)	PMVVY, a senior citizen pension scheme, is administered by LIC, not a commercial bank.
12	(c)	Sukanya Samriddhi accounts can be opened for a girl child below 10 years of age.
13	(b)	PMSBY is accident-specific cover; PMJJBY pays out on death from any cause, the core distinction examiners test.
14	(b)	DAY-NRLM organises rural women into Self-Help Groups and links them to bank credit at low interest.
15	(c)	Recognised startups get income tax exemption for 3 consecutive years within their first ten years of incorporation.