Opening a bank account (Jan Dhan / zero-balance account)
You open a basic savings account (BSBD), or a Jan Dhan account, in your name, with no minimum balance.
About this guidePending verification
Published on 12-11-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.
For whom: Anyone in Telangana without a bank account, parents who want an account for a child, and people who have no identity documents yet. Indian citizens living abroad (NRIs), OCI cardholders and foreign nationals have other rules: the first question shows them.
Answer the questions below first. Then the documents and steps open.
1Your situation
We show only what your answers need.
- Which of these are you?
- Where do you live now?
- Whose account is it?
- Do you have Aadhaar, or another official identity document such as a voter ID, passport, driving licence or NREGA job card?
- Where will you open it?
Your answers stay on this phone.
Each step below says who it is for. Confirm yours at the office, then change your answer here.
Another route for you
This guide is for savings accounts of people living in India. Under the foreign exchange rules (FEMA), an Indian citizen living abroad is a non-resident Indian (NRI): you open an NRE or NRO account (or an FCNR(B) deposit) instead. FEMA counts as resident in India a person who lived in India for more than 182 days in the previous financial year, but not a person who has gone abroad, or stays abroad, for a job, a business or any other purpose that shows an intention to stay there for an uncertain period (FEMA, section 2(v)). If you had a resident account here when you moved abroad, it has to be re-designated as an NRO account.
→ At a bank the RBI allows to keep non-residents' accounts, ask for an NRE account (in rupees; for money sent from abroad, which can be sent back) or an NRO account (in rupees; for income in India). For KYC from abroad, the bank may accept copies of your documents certified by an official of an overseas branch of an Indian scheduled bank, a notary abroad, a court magistrate, a judge, or the Indian embassy or consulate in your country.
Sources: 12, 13, 1, 15
Another route for you
Under FEMA, an OCI cardholder living outside India is a person of Indian origin (PIO): like NRIs, you open an NRE or NRO account (or an FCNR(B) deposit), not the resident accounts in this guide.
→ At a bank the RBI allows to keep non-residents' accounts, ask for an NRE account (in rupees; for money sent from abroad, which can be sent back) or an NRO account (in rupees; for income in India). For KYC from abroad, the bank may accept copies of your documents certified by an official of an overseas branch of an Indian scheduled bank, a notary abroad, a court magistrate, a judge, or the Indian embassy or consulate in your country.
Sources: 12, 13, 1
We could not confirm whether this applies to you
Under FEMA, an OCI cardholder counts as a person of Indian origin (PIO), with the NRE and NRO accounts, only while living outside India. You live in India, and the RBI pages we read do not say which account you then open, or whether the basic savings (BSBD) or Jan Dhan account is open to you.
Sources: 12, 13, 1
Another route for you
The rules for foreign nationals differ from this guide's. A foreign national visiting India can open an NRO savings or current account with money sent from abroad or foreign currency brought in. A bank may open an NRO account for a foreign student with the passport (with visa and immigration stamp), a photo and the admission letter. Pakistani nationals need the RBI's prior approval; Bangladeshi nationals need a valid visa and an FRRO / FRO residential permit. If you are not a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, and were once an Indian citizen, or are the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of an Indian citizen, or the husband or wife, of foreign origin, of an Indian citizen, FEMA counts you as a person of Indian origin (PIO) even without an OCI card: like NRIs, you can open an NRE or NRO account (or an FCNR(B) deposit). People who live in Nepal or Bhutan can open rupee accounts with a bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange in India.
→ At a bank the RBI allows to keep non-residents' accounts, ask for the account that fits you and which documents it needs. Under the RBI's KYC rules a passport counts as an identity document; if a foreign national's document has no address, papers from a foreign government department and a letter from the foreign embassy or mission in India count as proof of address.
Sources: 12, 13, 1
We could not confirm whether this applies to you
The RBI's directions speak of foreign nationals who work in India holding a resident account, which the bank may re-designate as an NRO account when they leave after their employment. A bank may open an NRO account for a foreign student with the passport (with visa and immigration stamp), a photo and the admission letter. Pakistani nationals need the RBI's prior approval; Bangladeshi nationals need a valid visa and an FRRO / FRO residential permit. A citizen of Bangladesh or Pakistan from a minority community there (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian) who lives in India and has been granted a Long Term Visa, or has applied for one, may open one NRO account with a bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange. The RBI's directions do not say whether the basic savings (BSBD) or Jan Dhan account in this guide is open to you.
Sources: 12, 13, 1, 14
2Documents you need
Tick the ones you have. They are kept in this browser.
Details
If you give your Aadhaar number, the bank checks it with UIDAI (e-KYC). Aadhaar is not compulsory for KYC, but you must give your Aadhaar number to get government scheme money in this account. Instead of Aadhaar, any one of these is accepted: passport, driving licence, voter ID issued by the Election Commission, NREGA job card signed by a State Government officer, or the letter from the National Population Register (NPR) with your name and address. If that document does not have your present address, for now an electricity, telephone, postpaid mobile, piped gas or water bill not more than two months old, a property or municipal tax receipt, or a pension order showing the address will do; you then give an official document with your present address within three months.
Sources: 1
Details
Sources: 1
Details
For a small account, give a photo you have signed yourself (self-attested). For other accounts the bank may take your photo there and then.
Sources: 1
Details
Not confirmed: The RBI directions say only that the KYC rules apply to minors' accounts too; they do not list the documents separately. Ask at the branch.
Sources: 2, 1
Nothing to get ready before these steps.
3Your steps
· Do them in order. Tick each one when it is done.
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)
Choose a bank.
Every bank must offer the basic savings account (BSBD), with no minimum balance. If you have no other bank account, ask for it as a Jan Dhan (PMJDY) account.
Sources: 2, 3, 4
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: YesIf: At a bank branch
Go to the branch and fill in the form for a BSBD / Jan Dhan account.
Give your identity document and your PAN or Form 60. Sign the declaration that you have no BSBD account in any other bank.
Sources: 2, 3, 1, 4
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: YesIf: With the Bank Mitra (business correspondent) in my village
Go to the Bank Mitra in your village (the business correspondent who works for the bank).
If you have Aadhaar, they check it by your fingerprint or face (e-KYC) and open the account. If you have another official document and no Aadhaar, ask the Bank Mitra first: the RBI lets a bank use a Bank Mitra to take a photo of you and of your original document (digital KYC), but does not require it. If this Bank Mitra does not do it, open the account at the bank branch.
Sources: 4, 9, 1, 2
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: YesIf: On the bank's app or website, with video KYC
Start the account application on the bank's app or website, and finish the video call with a bank official (video KYC, V-CIP).
In the call the bank identifies you through Aadhaar (an OTP, or Aadhaar offline verification), your CKYC number, or a digital copy of your identity document such as one from DigiLocker, and you show your PAN card, or give the bank your e-PAN in its digital form; a printed e-PAN is not accepted. You must be in India during the call.
Not confirmed
RBI allows banks to use video KYC but does not require it. Ask your bank whether it opens BSBD or Jan Dhan accounts online.
Sources: 1
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: YesIf: On the bank's app or website, with video KYC
If the bank opened the account with only an Aadhaar OTP and no video call, complete full KYC (video KYC or at the branch) within one year.
Until then, the total balance of all your deposit accounts may not go over ₹1 lakh, nor the total paid into them in a financial year over ₹2 lakh. If KYC is not done within the year, the bank closes the account.
Sources: 1
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: No, none
Go to a bank branch and ask for a 'small account'.
Give a photo you have signed yourself. Sign, or put your thumb impression, in front of the bank officer.
Sources: 1, 9
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)If: No, none
Within 12 months of opening the account, apply for Aadhaar or another identity document and show the bank proof that you applied; the account then runs for another 12 months.
Until then these limits apply: ₹1 lakh paid in during a financial year, ₹10,000 taken out or transferred in a month, and a balance of ₹50,000 at any time. Government grants and welfare money do not count towards the balance limit.
Sources: 1, 9
- Do this nowIf: A child's (under 18)
The mother, father or legal guardian goes to the branch and opens a savings account in the child's name.
The mother can open it as guardian too. A child's account can also be a basic savings account (BSBD).
Sources: 2
- Do this nowIf: A child's (under 18)
If the child is over 10, ask the bank whether the child may run the account alone, within the age, amount and terms the bank sets.
A child's account can never be overdrawn.
Sources: 2
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)
Ask the bank for what you need: a passbook, a RuPay / ATM card, a cheque book, internet or mobile banking.
In a BSBD account these are free: no yearly fee for the card, at least 25 cheque leaves a year, a passbook or monthly statement, and at least 4 free withdrawals a month (counting ATM withdrawals and transfers). Deposits have no limit. Digital payments such as UPI, NEFT and IMPS are not counted in those 4. The bank must not make you take services you did not ask for.
Sources: 2, 3
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)
If it is a Jan Dhan account, take the RuPay debit card: it comes with accident insurance of ₹2 lakh (₹1 lakh for accounts opened before 28.8.2018).
Eligible account holders can also get an overdraft of up to ₹10,000; ask the bank for its conditions.
Not confirmed
By the Government's 2018 decision, the overdraft is for ages 18 to 65, with no conditions up to ₹2,000. The account form on the Jan Dhan website says it comes after 6 months of using the account and to one member of a household; that form still shows the old limit (₹5,000). Ask the bank for the current conditions.
Sources: 4, 8, 9, 5, 6
- Do this nowIf: Mine (18 or older)
For government scheme money (pensions, scholarships and the like) to come into this account, the account holder's Aadhaar must be linked to it for DBT: fill in and hand over the bank's consent form for this.
Sources: 11, 1
- Do this nowIf: A child's (under 18)
For government scheme money (pensions, scholarships and the like) to come into this account, the account holder's Aadhaar must be linked to it for DBT: fill in and hand over the bank's consent form for this.
Sources: 11, 1
- Do this nowIf: A child's (under 18)
When the child turns 18, they go to the bank and give a new signature and a new photo, and the KYC documents again if the bank asks.
Sources: 2, 1
If something goes wrong
If it is rejectedIf the bank refuses to open a BSBD / Jan Dhan account, or asks for a minimum balance or a first deposit, first complain to the bank in writing and keep the complaint number.
If the bank refuses to open a BSBD / Jan Dhan account, or asks for a minimum balance or a first deposit, first complain to the bank in writing and keep the complaint number. If there is no reply within 30 days, or you are not satisfied with it, complain free of charge to the RBI Ombudsman on cms.rbi.org.in. Do it within 90 days of the end of those 30 days or of the bank's last reply, whichever is later. On 14448 they explain, in Telugu too, how to complain and what the status is; they do not take complaints by phone. The recorded line answers all day; staff answer from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday to Saturday, except national holidays.
RBI Ombudsman (CMS portal) · Open the official page
Sources: 2, 3, 10
If you are asked for more moneyIf the bank takes money for a BSBD account's basic services (the card's yearly fee, the passbook, the first 4 withdrawals of the month) or for not keeping a minimum balance, complain to the bank in writing.
If the bank takes money for a BSBD account's basic services (the card's yearly fee, the passbook, the first 4 withdrawals of the month) or for not keeping a minimum balance, complain to the bank in writing. If it is not settled within 30 days, complain to the RBI Ombudsman.
RBI Ombudsman (CMS portal) · Open the official page
Sources: 2, 3, 10
If it is lateIf you ask in writing for your existing savings account to be turned into a BSBD account, the bank must do it within 7 days.
If you ask in writing for your existing savings account to be turned into a BSBD account, the bank must do it within 7 days. If it does not, complain to the bank first and keep proof of the complaint. If the bank gives no reply within 30 days of getting your complaint, or you are not satisfied with its reply, complain to the RBI Ombudsman, within 90 days of those 30 days running out or of the bank's last reply, whichever is later.
RBI Ombudsman (CMS portal) · Open the official page
Sources: 2, 3, 10
AlsoA complaint about a Jan Dhan account can also be written in the complaint form on the Jan Dhan website; you can check its status there with the reference number.
A complaint about a Jan Dhan account can also be written in the complaint form on the Jan Dhan website; you can check its status there with the reference number.
Jan Dhan (PMJDY) complaint form · Open the official page
Sources: 7
Official websites for this work
- RBI Ombudsman Complain about a bank
Related guides
The 15 official pages and papers this guide is written from
- Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer) Directions, 2025 (RBI/DOR/2025-26/169), updated as on October 1, 2026Reserve Bank of India, Paragraph 5(1)(xiv) (officially valid documents; documents deemed OVDs for address, and the three months); 23 (documents; Aadhaar e-KYC; Explanation 2: biometric e-KYC by a business correspondent; Explanation 4: Aadhaar not compulsory for KYC, needed for benefits); 24 (digital KYC; 24(14): a business correspondent may be used); 25 (accounts opened by Aadhaar OTP); 26–27 (video KYC, V-CIP; 27(2)(vi): how the customer is identified; printed e-PAN not valid; no connections from outside India); 28 (small accounts); 42(1)(v) (minors on becoming major); 5(1)(v) proviso (certified copies for NRIs and PIOs); 5(1)(xiv)(d) (proof of address of a foreign national); 48 (NRO accounts of foreign students); 27(1)(iii) (no connection from outside India), 27(2)(xi) and (xii) (PAN card shown, or an e-PAN given; a printed e-PAN is not valid) (28-11-2025) · read on 30-10-2026
- Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025 (RBI/DOR/2025-26/170), version updated as on July 1, 2026Reserve Bank of India, Paragraphs 86–92 (Basic Savings Bank Deposit account, as replaced from April 1, 2026; 88: BSBD accounts of minors); 186–191 (minors' accounts). The version updated as on October 1, 2026 is published only as a PDF on rbidocs.rbi.org.in, which did not open for us (28-11-2025) · read on 01-11-2026
- Reserve Bank of India (Regional Rural Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025 (RBI/2025-26/267), updated as on July 1, 2026Reserve Bank of India, Paragraphs 137–143 (Basic Savings Bank Deposit account in Regional Rural Banks) (28-11-2025) · read on 30-10-2026
- Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): Scheme DetailsMission Office, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Scheme Details; Benefits under PMJDY · read on 30-10-2026
- Continuation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India (on pmjdy.gov.in), Paragraph 1 (a)–(e): overdraft limit, conditions and age limit; accident cover for accounts opened after 28.8.2018 · read on 30-10-2026
- Financial Inclusion Account Opening Form (English)Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India (on pmjdy.gov.in), Overdraft clause above the declaration (after 6 months; one member of the household); the form still shows the older limit of Rs. 5,000 · read on 30-10-2026
- PMJDY: Feedback / Information / Complaint / Suggestion, and Status EnquiryDepartment of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India · read on 30-10-2026
- PM Jan Dhan Yojana Completes 12 Years of Transforming India’s Financial Inclusion LandscapePress Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Paragraphs 2–3 (no minimum balance; RuPay card with ₹2 lakh accident cover; overdraft up to ₹10,000) (27-08-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- 11 Years of PM Jan Dhan Yojana: Banking the UnbankedPress Information Bureau, Government of India, Key features: Small Account / Chota Khata; RuPay Debit Card with inbuilt accident insurance; Business Correspondents / Bank Mitras (27-08-2025) · read on 30-10-2026
- Frequently asked questions: Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026Reserve Bank of India, FAQs 1, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 19 and 21 (01-07-2026) · read on 01-11-2026
- Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Aadhaar for Direct Benefit Transfer, frequently asked questionsUnique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Government of India, Question 'How do I receive benefits under the Govt. Schemes in my bank account?' (page last updated 02 Jul 2026) (30-04-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- Master Direction - Deposits and Accounts (FED Master Direction No. 14/2015-16), updated as on September 02, 2026Reserve Bank of India (Foreign Exchange Department), Part II: paragraphs 2.4 (NRI), 2.5 (PIO, including OCI cardholders), 4.1 (NRE), 5.1 (FCNR(B)), 6.1, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 and 6.10 (NRO accounts; foreign nationals visiting India; nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh; a resident account re-designated as NRO); 6.12 (a foreign national's resident account re-designated as NRO on leaving after employment) · read on 30-10-2026
- FAQs: Accounts in India by Non-residents (as on January 16, 2025)Reserve Bank of India, Q1 (NRI), Q2 (PIO; an OCI cardholder resident outside India), Q3 (NRE, FCNR(B), NRO; change of residential status), Q4 (nationals of Bangladesh and Pakistan), Q5 (tourists), Q8 (persons resident in Nepal and Bhutan) · read on 30-10-2026
- Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 (S.O. 3997(E)), as amended by S.O. 6027(E) of 4 November 2026Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Paragraph 3(1)(b): citizens of Nepal and Bhutan · read on 10-11-2026
- FAQs: Foreign Currency Accounts by Resident Individuals (as on 16 January 2025)Reserve Bank of India, Question 1 (quotes section 2(v) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999) (16-01-2025) · read on 10-11-2026