Financial Inclusion 2.0 Opening a Bank Account is no Longer Enough

India has made substantial progress towards expanding banking access, driven by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and the Aadhaar-Mobile-UPI (JAM) Trinity. Yet, the opening of a bank account is not the same as its meaningful use. This paper argues that India’s financial inclusion story must now move into a second phase, referred to here as Financial Inclusion 2.0, in which the policy focus shifts from account ownership to active usage, financial capability, and improved household outcomes. Drawing on Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India data, the paper shows that a considerable share of Jan Dhan accounts remain dormant or are used primarily to receive government transfers, that women’s accounts are, in some cases, operated by other family members, and that rural households continue to depend on informal credit. Comparative experiences from Kenya’s M-Pesa, Brazil’s Pix, and Singapore’s PayNow are used to draw lessons for strengthening India’s Digital Public Infrastructure. The paper proposes a six-point agenda covering active account usage, credit access for women and small farmers, insurance and pension penetration, financial education, women’s control over their own accounts, and digital trust, and argues that these priorities should anchor the next phase of India’s financial inclusion policy.