Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said unclaimed financial assets worth ₹1.84 lakh crore are lying with banks and regulators, urging officials to ensure these reach their rightful owners.
The bulk of the unclaimed assets is primarily from the banking system, with the department of financial services (DFS) under the finance ministry estimating the amount lying with RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund at over ₹75,000 crore. Additionally, there are also unclaimed insurance proceeds, unclaimed balances in mutual funds and unclaimed dividends.
Sitharaman launched a three-month-long ‘Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar’ (Your Money, Your Right) campaign from Gandhinagar, in the presence of Gujarat finance minister Kanubhai Desai and senior banking and finance ministry officials.
The finance minister said these unclaimed assets are spread across multiple instruments such as bank deposits, insurance, provident fund accounts and shares. “Unclaimed monies are lying with the banks or with the RBI or with the IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund). We have to find the rightful owners and claimants of those funds and hand the money over to them,” she said.
Sitharaman assured that the funds are secure. “It is absolutely safe. You come when you want with proper papers, and money will be given to you. The government is only the custodian. It can be with banks, RBI, Sebi, or any other agency—but it is in safe custody,” she emphasised.
Explaining the movement of idle assets, she said that deposits with banks, if unclaimed, will eventually transfer to the RBI, while unclaimed securities pass from Sebi to the IEPF. To ease tracking, the RBI has launched the UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information) portal, which consolidates information on unclaimed deposits.
On September 30, the RBI announced a one-year scheme starting from October 1 to encourage banks to actively pursue customers/depositors for reactivation of their inoperative accounts and return of their unclaimed amounts lying with the Depositors Education Awareness Fund to the rightful claimant in a timely and efficient manner.
The finance minister asked officials to work on the principle of three As—Awareness, Access and Action—to ensure rightful claimants receive their money.
The finance ministry, in a statement on Saturday, said that the campaign will be conducted across all states and union territories during October—December 2025. Digital demonstrations and helpdesks will assist citizens in tracing and claiming their unclaimed financial assets with ease.