In a ground breaking move aimed at addressing the issue of unclaimed bank deposits in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the UDGAM portal. With a staggering Rs 35,000 crores in unclaimed bank deposits, the UDGAM platform presents an innovative solution to help individuals to locate their forgetten funds. In this article, we would get into the details of this Udgam initiative, exploring how it works and providing step-by-step guidance on how to use the UDGAM portal to track down unclaimed fixed deposits.
Understanding the Unclaimed Deposits Issue
In India, numerous savings and current accounts remain inactive for extended periods. When an account remains inoperative for a span of 10 years, the balance within is deemed an unclaimed deposit. This same principle applies to Fixed Deposits (FDs) and Recurring Deposits (RDs) that are left unclaimed for a decade after their maturity.
These unclaimed deposits are later transferred by banks to the “Depositor Education and Awareness” (DEA) Fund, which is managed by the RBI.
Despite the option for depositors to claim their funds along with accrued interest from the bank, the challenge lies in identifying which bank holds the unclaimed deposit and the cumbersome process of dealing with multiple institutions.
What is UDGAM Platform?
To streamline and simplify the process of locating unclaimed deposits, the RBI has launched the UDGAM portal now. This online platform serves as a centralized repository for unclaimed deposits across various banks in India. Instead of navigating multiple institutions, depositors can now use a single website to search for unclaimed deposits.
As of now, the UDGAM portal covers several prominent banks for individual depositors, including:
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- Punjab National Bank
- Central Bank of India
- Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.
- South Indian Bank Ltd.
- DBS Bank India Ltd.
For non-individual entities, Citibank is also included in the list of banks covered by the platform.
Using the UDGAM Portal: Step-by-Step Guide
- Register/Login: Visit the UDGAM portal at https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits and create an account (use register option) or log in if you already have one.
- Enter Search Criteria: Provide at least one search criterion, such as the name of the account holder or the bank account number.
- Select Relevant Banks: Choose the specific banks from the list of participating institutions that you want to search for unclaimed deposits in.
- Enter a search criteria: User have to provide atleast one criteria such as PAN, Voter Card, Driving licence number, passport or date of birth
- View Potential Deposits: Once you’ve entered your search criteria and selected banks, the portal will display a list of potential unclaimed deposits matching your input.
- Check the underlying details: Once the list is generated with names and bank names, one can further check which branch and address it belongs to for further action.
Significance and Impact
The UDGAM portal is a good initiative by the RBI to address the challenge of unclaimed deposits. Despite previous awareness campaigns, the magnitude of unclaimed deposits in India remains significant. This platform provides individuals and entities to take proactive steps to retrieve their unclaimed funds, thereby contributing to their financial well-being.
FAQs about UDGAM unclaimed deposit platform
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Sir Nice and Informative Article. I would like to Know “How to Find/Get back my Unclaimed Physical mode Shares from IEPF”. Since last 3 Years – I have tried with the Company and It’s Registrar by visiting many times to their Concerned City Offices. Also Got My Signature Attested by my Banker and opened a Single Name DEMAT Account as per the Share Certificate as they required. Also applied to IEPF Form on their site by filling all their Required Details. However Till Date not received any Response from IEPF. Please Help how Deal with the Matter further.
Can you pls check this article and you can post incremental queries you might have. https://corpbiz.io/learning/procedure-for-recovery-of-shares-from-iepf/
Great initiative by GoI/RBI. It will help millions of depositors having billons of rupees stuck in unclaimed deposits with banks.
Much needed information i should say If you can add some screenshots of the same it would be helpful