Source: ET
Context:
The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is developing a single unified digital portal to help individuals locate and claim unclaimed financial assets across multiple asset classes. The announcement was made by M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, during a PNB-led investor awareness event under Aapki Poonji Aapka Adhikar.
Unclaimed Financial Assets
Unclaimed Assets refer to money or financial instruments that legally belong to an individual but remain untouched, unwithdrawn, or unclaimed for a long period.
These assets typically become “unclaimed” because the owner:
- Forgot about the investment or deposit,
- Moved without updating contact details,
- Passed away and the heirs were unaware,
- Lost access due to inactive accounts or documentation issues.
Banks must transfer unclaimed bank deposits (10+ years) to the Depositors Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) maintained by RBI.
Unified Portal for All Unclaimed Assets
- The portal will consolidate information on unclaimed bank deposits, pension funds, shares, dividends, and other financial instruments.
- Objective: To make it easier for savers and retail investors to identify, verify, and claim long-dormant or forgotten assets.
- This eliminates the need to visit multiple platforms maintained by banks, EPFO, insurance companies, or corporate registrars.
- The portal is being jointly developed by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India, ensuring regulatory integration and verified data flow.
What Is an Inoperative Account?
An Inoperative Account is a bank account that has seen no customer-initiated transaction for a fixed period.
- A savings/current account becomes inoperative if there is no customer-initiated transaction for 2 consecutive years.
- Automatic entries like interest credit, service charges, or penalty deductions do NOT count as customer-initiated transactions.
