Sitharaman launches campaign to return ₹1.84 trn unclaimed financial assets
New Delhi, Oct 4, 2025
Most of the locked-up funds are in the form of deposits, insurance, provident fund, and shares, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, calling on officials to ensure they reach the rightful owners
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that financial assets worth ₹1.84 trillion are lying unclaimed with banks and regulators, and called on officials to ensure that they reach their rightful owners.
Launching the Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar (Your Money, Your Right) campaign in Gandhinagar, Sitharaman said the three-month drive will focus on “Awareness, Access and Action” to help people recover unclaimed funds. Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai and senior officials from banks and the finance ministry were present at the event.
“Unclaimed monies are lying with the banks or with the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) 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,” Sitharaman said.
She said assets worth ₹1.84 trillion were unclaimed across banks and regulators in the form of deposits, insurance, provident fund, and shares. “As per the DFS (Department of Financial Services), ₹1,84,000 crore is lying there. It is safe. I can assure you it is absolutely safe. You come when you want with proper papers. Money will be given to you. The government is the custodian for it,” she said.
Sitharaman explained that unclaimed assets are transferred between institutions if they remain unclaimed for long. “From banks, it goes to the RBI in case of deposits, and in case of stocks or similar assets, it goes from Sebi to another centre or the IEPF,” she said.
She highlighted the RBI’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information) portal, which allows people to trace and claim their unclaimed deposits. “It is high time that all of us spread the word to everyone,” she added.
Calling on officials to raise awareness, the finance minister said: “The first A is awareness. Build awareness. Tell them that your money is lying there, come with this document and take it. You can become ambassadors and tell people if they have yet to claim their rightful asset.”
She said extending “Access” through the RBI portal and bank help desks would make it easier for people to claim their assets. “The third 'A' is action, where you act on whatever you have, like small bits of papers,” she said, urging a “concerted attempt” to make the campaign successful.
The finance minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging the initiative. “It was the Prime Minister who persuaded us to move from one place to another and call up people asking them to claim their dues. So, bridge the gap and make sure people can take it,” she said.
Sitharaman also praised the Gujarat Gramin Bank for promising to send its officials to every village in the state to help locate rightful owners of unclaimed deposits.
[The Business Standard]
