On August 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled the centralised web portal – UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) for the public to search for their unclaimed deposits at one place. This plan was first announced by the central bank in the April monetary policy.
Here is an explainer on what it means to you.
To begin with, what are unclaimed deposits?
According to the RBI website, unclaimed deposits with banks are balances in savings or current accounts which are not operated for 10 years. Term deposits not claimed within 10 years from date of maturity are also classified as “Unclaimed Deposits”.
What happens to these amounts when they are unclaimed?
Whenever the deposits remain unclaimed for more than 10 years, the respective bank transfers the funds to a “Depositor Education and Awareness” (DEA) Fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.
The depositors are, however, still entitled to claim the deposits at a later date, from the bank(s) where such deposits were held along with interest as applicable.
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What is the amount that is still unclaimed?
In April, the Minister of State (MoS) for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, in a written reply to Parliament, said that the total amount of unclaimed deposits not operated for 10 years or more, transferred to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by public sector banks (PSBs), was Rs 35,012 crore till February 2023 as against Rs 48,262 in March 2022 last year.
India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, has the largest unclaimed deposit amount of Rs 8,086 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 5,340 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 4,558 crore) and Bank of Baroda (Rs 3,904 crore).
Why did RBI decide to come up with this new portal?
According to India's central bank governor, to improve and widen the access of depositors/beneficiaries to information on such unclaimed deposits, it was decided to develop a web portal to enable search across multiple banks for possible unclaimed deposits.
How will the centralised portal help depositors?
UDGAM portal has been developed by RBI for use by members of public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search for their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.
The launch of the web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.
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Are all banks covered on this portal?
No. Initially, users will be able to access the details of their unclaimed deposits in respect of seven banks available on the portal. These banks include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd, South Indian Bank Ltd, DBS Bank India Ltd, and Citibank N.A.
The search facility for remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.
Who developed this portal?
The portal has been developed by the Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks.
What should one do if they have unclaimed deposits?
Firstly, users have to visit this website - https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/register , and then register themselves by filling in their mobile number, full name, and new password.
After this, log in with your registered credentials and fill a one-time password. On the home page, enter the name of the account holder, any one search criteria, select the relevant banks and then hit the search button. It will show you potential deposits.
You can also select all banks at one time, if you are not sure which bank your unclaimed deposits are in.
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