7 months ago
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman connected Saturday (October 4, 2025) said fiscal assets worthy ₹1.84 lakh crore were lying unclaimed with banks and regulators, and officials request to guarantee these scope the rightful owners.
Ms. Sitharaman launched the three-month Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar (Your Money, Your Right) run from Gandhinagar successful the beingness of Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai and elder officials from the banks and the Finance Ministry.
Speaking connected the occasion, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs said that fiscal assets worthy ₹1.84 lakh crore were lying unclaimed with banks and regulators successful the signifier of slope deposits, insurance, provident money oregon shares.
She urged officials to enactment connected 3 As — Awareness, Access and Action — to guarantee these unclaimed assets scope rightful owners during the three-month-long campaign.
"Unclaimed monies are lying with the banks oregon with the RBI oregon with the IEPF [Investor Education and Protection Fund]. We person to find the rightful owners and claimants of those funds and manus the wealth implicit to them," Mr. Sitharaman said.
"As per the DFS [Department of Financial Services], ₹1,84,000 crore is lying there. It is safe. I tin guarantee you it is perfectly safe. You travel erstwhile you privation with due papers. Money volition beryllium fixed to you. The authorities is the custodian for it. It tin beryllium done the slope oregon done SEBI. It tin beryllium done immoderate different agency. But it is lying determination successful harmless custody," she assured.
If the plus remains unclaimed for a agelong clip owed to immoderate reason, it gets transferred from 1 entity to another, the Minister said.
From banks, it goes to the RBI successful lawsuit of deposits, and successful lawsuit of stocks oregon akin assets, it goes from SEBI to "another centre oregon the IEPF", she said.
"The RBI has created the UDGAM [Unclaimed Deposits Gateway To Access Information] portal. So, it is moving from 1 unclaimed country to another, which is holding this unclaimed deposit. The infinitesimal you assertion it, you get it. So, I honestly deliberation it is precocious clip that each of america dispersed the connection to everyone," Ms. Sitharaman said.
On the 'awareness' front, the curate urged authorities and slope officials to make consciousness among radical truthful that they travel guardant and assertion their rightful assets, specified arsenic security policies lying unclaimed contempt maturity.
"The archetypal A is awareness. Build awareness. Tell them that your wealth is lying there, travel with this papers and instrumentality it. You tin go ambassadors and archer radical if they person yet to assertion their rightful asset. Just inquire them to find the papers and registry connected the portal," she said.
The curate further spoke astir extending "access" to those rightful claimants, either done RBI's UDGAM portal oregon stalls created by banks for this purpose.
"The 3rd A is action, wherever you [officials] enactment connected immoderate you have, similar tiny bits of papers," she said, adding that a "concerted attempt" volition marque the run successful.
Ms. Sitharaman said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who persuaded her and the ministry to "move from 1 spot to different and telephone up radical asking them to assertion their dues. So, span the spread and marque definite radical tin instrumentality it."
Ms. Sitharaman besides lauded the Gujarat Gramin Bank for assuring her that its officials would sojourn each colony successful the authorities to look for rightful owners of unclaimed deposits lying successful the bank.
