- Why in news
- On 9 March 2026 the Finance Ministry told the Lok Sabha, in a written reply (released 10 March 2026), how PMJJBY enrolment and claim settlement are being improved. It gave 26.79 crore beneficiaries and a 99.95% claim settlement ratio as on 18 Feb 2026.
- What it is
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a government-backed life insurance scheme for bank account holders. It was launched in 2015 and offers a renewable one-year term cover of Rs 2 lakh on death from any cause. It is run through banks, post offices and insurers.
- Settlement time
- IRDAI says average claim settlement time ranges from 0.61 to 17 days across insurers.
- Jansuraksha Portal
- The portal digitises enrolment and claims for PMJJBY and PMSBY. 12 public sector banks, 28 RRBs and 13 insurers are onboarded.
- Cover and eligibility
- PMJJBY gives Rs 2 lakh life cover for death from any cause, for ages 18-50 with a bank account. The premium is Rs 436 a year, auto-debited, and cover runs 1 June to 31 May.
Don’t confuse with PMJJBY vs PMSBY: PMJJBY is life insurance, Rs 2 lakh for death from any cause, premium Rs 436. PMSBY is accident insurance, Rs 2 lakh for accidental death or full disability, premium Rs 20.
Don’t confuse with PMJJBY vs Atal Pension Yojana: PMJJBY is term life insurance. APY is a pension scheme with guaranteed pension after age 60.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Low-cost insurance extends social security to the poor and unbanked, supporting financial inclusion.
- A high claim settlement ratio builds trust in insurance.
Problems
- Policy lapses at annual renewal, so active policies (12.56 crore) are far below total beneficiaries (26.80 crore).
- Awareness gaps and claim rejections, mostly on documentation, persist in rural areas.
Way forward
- Use auto-debit renewals, the Jansuraksha Portal and banking correspondents to cut lapses.
- Run awareness drives on claim procedures, nominee details and documentation.
Put in your answer
Last-mile delivery: About 16 lakh Banking Correspondents enrol people under social security schemes.
- 2016Mains GS3 · Q3Whether PMJDY is necessary for financial inclusion of poorer sections; justify with arguments
- 2013Mains GS2 · Q8Whether overlapping insurance and securities products justify merging SEBI and IRDA
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q2Examine financial inclusion as part of social and economic inclusion; usefulness of RBI's index
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana gives a renewable one-year life cover of Rs 2 lakh on death from any cause.
- 2.The Jansuraksha Portal is used for enrolment and claim remittance under both PMJJBY and PMSBY.
- 3.The annual action plan to reduce PMJJBY policy lapses before the renewal cycle is issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 4
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The Jansuraksha Portal is used for enrolment and claim settlement under both PMJJBY and PMSBY.
True. The portal covers enrolment and claim remittance for both schemes.
2.PMJJBY provides life cover of Rs 2 lakh on death due to any cause.
True. The cover is Rs 2 lakh for death from any cause.
3.A bank account holder aged 18 to 50 years can enrol in PMJJBY.
True. The entry age is 18-50 years, and cover can continue up to age 55 on renewal.
4.The annual action plan to reduce PMJJBY policy lapses is issued by IRDAI.
False. The Department of Financial Services issues it. IRDAI is the sector regulator that supplied settlement-time data.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.