Kolkata: Indian banks have a strange problem — they are sitting on a huge pile of unclaimed deposits, vast pots of money that belong to people who have either forgotten them or have never been aware that such fortunes existed for them. Parliament has been told that the amount is a whopping Rs 72,454 crore in end Jan. The unclaimed amount with PSU banks is Rs 60,571.02 crore while that with private sector banks Rs 9,607.76 crore and foreign banks Rs 2,275.01 crore.
The rule is if there is any money in any savings and current accounts which remain inoperative for 10 years, they are categorised as unclaimed deposits and the amount is transferred by banks to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund maintained by the RBI. The same happens to any Fixed Deposit which might lie unclaimed for 10 years after the date of maturity.
The UDGAM portal of RBI
The question is how to find out whether one actually has such khazana waiting somewhere. To facilitate this search and subsequent recovery of hidden or lost money, the government and RBI have set up the UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits– Gateway to Access InforMation) portal which anyone can access via a few simple steps. It allows one to search for unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one platform.
How to track
One can access the UDGAM portal through a few simple steps. One has to login through https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/login using one’s mobile phone number and captcha compliance. An OTP will be sent to the mobile number you provide and it needs to be typed in. The rest of the steps are simple and menu-driven. One has to use PAN, name and date of birth. One has to set a password and register. One can search in as many as more than 30 banks through this platform.
To search the details one has to type the account holder’s name and select specific banks or all banks to initiate the search. Among the input credentials are at least one of the PAN, voter ID, driving license, passport number or date of birth. The portal will display any linked unclaimed accounts by searching through the data base of all the banks present on this platform.
How to claim the money
Once an individual has been able to locate unclaimed deposits that belongs to him/her, the UDGAM portal provides all the necessary details. To lodge the claim, the individual has to visit the branch of the respective bank. One has to fill in a claim form along with necessary documents such as KYC and proof of deposit. However, one has to remember that UDGAM portal does not allow one to lodge any online claims. The platform only helps in locating the money. Also the UDGAM portal can be used by anyone for free.