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| Rs 62,683 crore lying unclaimed in banks; thousands of crores await owners | | |  Mahim Gupta
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 4: Unclaimed deposits lying with Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have risen to Rs 62,683.19 crore as of June 30, 2026, prompting the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to roll out a series of measures to help depositors, nominees and legal heirs trace and recover their money.
The information was shared by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The Minister said the unclaimed deposits are currently held in the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund, maintained by the RBI.
To reduce the growing stock of unclaimed deposits and ensure timely settlement of claims, the Government and the RBI have introduced several reforms aimed at simplifying procedures and proactively identifying rightful claimants.
Among the key initiatives, the RBI issued comprehensive Responsible Business Conduct Directions, 2025, standardising the process for settlement of claims relating to deceased customers, including deposit accounts.
The central bank has also introduced the “Scheme for Facilitating Accelerated Payout – Inoperative Accounts and Unclaimed Deposits”, effective from October 1, 2025, under which banks receive incentives ranging from 5 to 7.5 per cent of the unclaimed deposit amount, subject to a prescribed cap, for every successfully settled claim.
To improve outreach, banks have been directed to conduct periodic special drives to trace account holders, nominees and legal heirs of dormant accounts. They have also been instructed to update lists of unclaimed deposits on their websites every month and contact customers through letters, emails or SMS every quarter, wherever contact details are available.
Banks have further been asked to organise regular public awareness and financial literacy campaigns to educate people about dormant accounts, nomination facilities and the procedure for claiming unclaimed deposits.
The Government also launched a three-month nationwide campaign titled “Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar – Your Money, Your Right” from October to December 2025 in coordination with the RBI and other financial regulators.
Special awareness and claim facilitation camps were organised across 748 districts of the country. As of June 30, 2026, unclaimed financial assets worth Rs 7,320 crore had been restored to their rightful owners through the coordinated efforts of various financial sector regulators.
To make the search process easier, the RBI has launched the UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access Information) portal, enabling the public to search for unclaimed deposits across multiple banks through a single platform.
In another major reform, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 now allows bank customers to register up to four successive or simultaneous nominees, a move aimed at reducing future disputes and preventing deposits from remaining unclaimed.
The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), following RBI directions, has also introduced a Common Application Form and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for claiming unclaimed deposits through banks’ online portals.
Further strengthening access to information, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) launched the Common Landing Portal for Unclaimed Financial Assets on May 29, 2026, providing a single window to search for unclaimed bank deposits, insurance claims, shares, dividends and mutual fund investments.
The RBI has also been conducting regular multimedia awareness campaigns on unclaimed deposits, dormant accounts, nomination facilities, Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance and the use of the UDGAM portal to encourage people to reclaim their financial assets. |
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