Financial assets worth Rs 1.84 lakh crore lying without claim
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that banks and regulators have financial assets worth Rs 1.84 lakh crore without claims. He said that the authorities should ensure that these assets reach their real owners. Sitharaman launched a three -month “your capital, your right” campaign from Gandhinagar in the presence of Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, banks and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister said that banks and regulators have financial assets worth Rs 1.84 lakh crore in the form of bank deposits, insurance, provident funds or shares without claims. He urged the officials to work on three aspects- awareness, access and action- to bring these un-claimed properties to their real owners during the three-month campaign.
Real owners will get money
Sitharaman said, “The funds without claims are lying with banks, RBI or IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund). We have to find out the real owners and claimants of these funds and hand over the money to them.” He assured, “According to the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Rs 1,84,000 crore is lying there. This amount is safe. I can assure you that it is completely safe. You are completely safe whenever you want. You will be given money with proper papers. You will be given money. The government is its guardian.”
The minister said that if the property is not claimed for a long time for some reason, it is transferred from one institution to another. He said that in terms of deposits, it goes to RBI from banks, and in terms of shares or similar assets, it goes from SEBI to “another center or IEPF”.
UDGAM can claim from portal
Sitharaman said, “RBI has created a UDGAM (uncured deposits Gateway to Access Information) portal. Therefore, it is going from one -to -anless area to another without a claim. As soon as you claim, you will find it. So, I think the time has come to tell us all about this.”
The minister urged government and bank officials to create awareness among the people so that they would come forward and claim their right assets, such as the insurance policies lying without claims. He told the officials to spread awareness. Tell them that your money is lying there, come with this document and take it. You can become messengers and tell people if they have not claimed their correct assets yet. Just ask them to find papers and register on the portal. “
He further said, “Whatever you have (officer), such as small pieces of paper, take action on it.” He further said that only an organized effort will make this campaign a success. Sitharaman said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him and the ministry to go from place to place and call people to take dues.
Sitharaman also appreciated the Gujarat Gramin Bank, who assured him that his officers would go to every village in the state and seek the real owners of the deposit amount without claiming in the bank.