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RBI's Rs 70,000 Crore Secret: Claim Your Due
21 Apr
Summary
- Over Rs 70,000 crore in unclaimed deposits are held by banks.
- Unclaimed funds are transferred to RBI's DEA Fund after 10 years.
- UDGAM portal helps locate missing bank deposits from multiple banks.
The Reserve Bank of India reports that unclaimed deposits in banks have surged to over Rs 70,000 crore. These unclaimed funds originate from savings, current, fixed, and recurring deposit accounts that have remained inactive for at least 10 years. Common reasons for funds becoming unclaimed include lost account information, misplaced deposit receipts, unupdated addresses, and issues arising from the account holder's death without proper estate planning or nominee awareness.
After a decade of inactivity, banks are mandated to transfer the balances of these unclaimed deposits to the Deposit Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund, managed by the RBI. While ownership of the money remains with the original depositor, it is no longer held by the bank. The DEA Fund accrues simple interest at 3% per annum, and crucially, there is no time limit for claiming these funds.
To aid citizens in recovering their lost money, the Indian government has launched the 'Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar' campaign. Complementing this, the RBI has introduced a centralized web portal named UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access inforMation). This portal allows users to search for unclaimed deposits across numerous participating banks, facilitating the recovery process for depositors, nominees, or legal heirs.
