The amount of money in the banks of the country which has not been claimed by anyone for years is continuously increasing. These are called unclaimed deposits. The government told in Parliament that their total amount is increasing rapidly. Besides, the government and the Reserve Bank are also taking several steps to deliver this money to its real owners.
Unclaimed amount increased rapidly in one year
According to the information given by the Finance Ministry in the Lok Sabha, the amount of unclaimed deposits in banks till March 31, 2024 was about Rs 60,610 crore. This amount increased in one year to approximately Rs 74,580 crore by 31 March 2025. That means an increase of thousands of crores of rupees was recorded in just one year.
What is unclaimed deposit?
According to the government, if a savings or current account remains inactive for 10 years or a fixed deposit is not claimed even after 10 years of maturity, then it is considered as unclaimed deposit. After this, this amount is transferred from the banks and deposited in the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund of the Reserve Bank.
Largest share of public sector banks
According to statistics, the largest share in this unclaimed money belongs to public sector banks. In 2024, their share was around 74.47% and in 2025 it was around 74.18%. That means a large part of the unclaimed amount is deposited in government banks only.
New steps of government and RBI
The Finance Ministry said that several initiatives have been started to reach the unclaimed deposits to the real owners. In September 2025, RBI issued new guidelines to simplify the process of settlement of accounts of deceased account holders. RBI started an incentive scheme from October 2025. Under this, if a bank successfully disposes of unclaimed deposits, it is given an incentive of 5% to 7.5% of that amount.
Special instructions given to banks
The government has instructed banks to conduct special drives from time to time to trace the real owners, nominees or legal heirs of such accounts. Apart from this, updating the list of unclaimed accounts on the website every month, contacting the account holders through email, SMS or letter, giving information to the customers every quarter.
Impact of awareness campaign
To increase awareness, the government also launched your Capital, Your Rights campaign across the country between October and December 2025. Its effect has also been seen. Till 28 February 2026, unclaimed amount of about Rs 5,777 crore has been returned to the original owners.
Change in nominee rules also
Changes have also been made in the Banking Rules (Amendment) Act 2025 to reduce the problem of unclaimed deposits in future. Now the facility to add maximum four nominees in bank accounts instead of one has been given, which will reduce the possibility of money remaining unclaimed in future.