Context of the News
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the Ministry of Finance, has launched a Common Landing Portal for Unclaimed Financial Assets to help citizens easily search for and reclaim money they may have forgotten or lost track of across various parts of the financial system. The portal was launched by M. Nagaraju, Secretary, DFS, during a high-level review meeting of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in New Delhi, and was developed in collaboration with the PSB Alliance, a joint initiative of public sector banks. The portal is a single, unified search platform where users can look for unclaimed assets across multiple categories, including bank deposits, insurance claims, shares and dividends, and mutual fund investments, instead of going to each regulator or bank separately.
Key Highlights
- Portal: Common Landing Portal for Unclaimed Financial Assets.
- Launched by: DFS, Ministry of Finance.
- Officially launched by: M. Nagaraju, Secretary, DFS.
- Developed in collaboration with: PSB Alliance (a joint initiative of public sector banks).
What the portal does:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Single entry point | One landing portal instead of multiple regulator-wise portals |
| Searchable categories | Bank deposits, insurance claims, shares and dividends, mutual fund investments |
| Aim | Easier access, transparency, citizen convenience |
| Alignment | Viksit Bharat 2047, financial inclusion, public awareness |
Linked initiatives:
| Initiative | Detail |
|---|---|
| “आपकी पूँजी, आपका अधिकार” (“Your Money, Your Right”) | Nationwide DFS-led campaign for awareness and reclaim of unclaimed assets |
| PSB Alliance | Joint platform of public sector banks for shared services (also runs Doorstep Banking, EASE reforms, etc.) |
Existing channels for specific asset categories (still in operation):
| Category | Channel |
|---|---|
| Unclaimed bank deposits | UDGAM portal of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) |
| Unpaid dividends, matured deposits, debentures, shares | Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority under Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| Unclaimed insurance amounts | IRDAI rules and the insurer’s own portals |
| Dormant EPF accounts | EPFO website / UMANG app |
| Mutual fund folios | Each AMC and MFCentral by AMFI |
Background Concepts (Q&A)
What is the “RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund”, and What Happens to Unclaimed Bank Deposits?
The Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund is a fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, where banks are required to transfer the credit balance of any deposit account that has remained inoperative for 10 years or more. Once a deposit is transferred to the DEA Fund, the bank continues to owe the depositor the amount, but the money is parked with the RBI, which uses the interest earned for promoting depositor education and awareness, research on banking and financial sector issues, and other depositor-protection activities.
If the rightful depositor or legal heir comes forward at any time, the bank is obligated to pay the amount (with applicable interest), and the bank then claims a refund from the DEA Fund. The RBI also runs the UDGAM portal (launched August 2023), a centralised web portal where citizens can search across multiple banks for unclaimed deposits using their name and a few identifying details, instead of going to each bank separately. The Common Landing Portal launched by DFS now sits on top of these systems, providing a single front door for unclaimed assets across multiple sectors, not just banking.
