The finance ministry is working with the Reserve Bank of India to develop a unified portal that will allow citizens to search and claim unclaimed assets across bank deposits, pension funds, shares, dividends and other financial instruments, Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary M Nagaraju said on Thursday.
Speaking at a Punjab National Bank mega camp under the ‘Aapki Poonji Aapka Adhikar’ initiative, he said the platform is expected to be launched soon, according to PTI.
“The Department of Financial Services is working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to develop a unified integrated portal… for across all the regulators and to be coordinated by the RBI,” Nagaraju said. Separate portals already exist, including RBI’s UDGAM, Sebi’s MITRA and Irdai’s Bima Bharosa, but the integrated system will make it easier for citizens to locate unclaimed funds with greater convenience and transparency.
Nagaraju said low awareness has left large sums of unclaimed assets idle in accounts. With an ongoing focus on financial inclusion and education, the government is working to help citizens reclaim their dues. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, on October 4, launched a three-month nationwide awareness drive titled ‘Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar’ to streamline recoveries across the financial sector.
The DFS secretary said outreach efforts have so far enabled the return of Rs 1,887 crore to rightful owners or their nominees, adding that more settlements are expected as digital access widens and more facilitation camps are organised.
Unclaimed assets — including bank deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, shares and mutual fund redemption amounts — often go unsettled due to outdated records or lack of awareness. During the campaign, citizens are being provided on-the-spot help to search for their unclaimed assets, update KYC details and complete claim procedures, with digital demonstrations offered at the camps.
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