₹67,000 Crore in Unclaimed Deposits: SBI Leads the Way as Funds Transfer to Government

Indian banks have transferred over ₹67,000 crore in unclaimed deposits to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund as of June 30, 2025. The data was presented in Parliament on July 28, 2025, in response to a question from MP M.K. Vishnu Prasad.

Public Sector Accounts for the Majority

Public sector banks contributed ₹58,330.26 crore, or 87% of the total unclaimed deposits. State Bank of India (SBI) accounted for the highest share at ₹19,329.92 crore. Punjab National Bank(PNB) and Canara Bank followed with ₹6,910.67 crore and ₹6,278.14 crore respectively.

Private Banks’ Share

Private sector banks transferred ₹8,673.72 crore. ICICI Bank led in this category with ₹2,063.45 crore, followed by HDFC Bank with ₹1,609.56 crore and Axis Bank with ₹1,360.16 crore. The data does not cover non-banking financial companies, which are exempt.

What Counts as Unclaimed

Unclaimed deposits include balances in savings and current accounts inactive for 10 years, and term deposits not claimed within 10 years of maturity. These funds are required to be transferred to the DEA Fund under RBI guidelines.

Growth in Unclaimed Deposits

Annual transfers to the DEA Fund rose significantly in recent years. The amount nearly tripled from around ₹4,500 crore per year to ₹12,254.29 crore in 2022–23. In 2023-24, the figure was ₹11,794.17 crore, while ₹7,946.49 crore was added in the first nine months of 2024-25.

Read more: ₹2 Lakh Crore Unclaimed in India: Could Some of It Be Yours?

RBI Measures

To improve claim settlements, the RBI launched the UDGAM portal in August 2023. As of July 1, 2025, it had 8.59 lakh registered users. Banks are also required to publish lists of unclaimed accounts and attempt to trace customers or their legal heirs.

Conclusion

The total amount of unclaimed deposits continues to rise, with SBI holding the largest share. Regulatory mechanisms have been put in place to help people identify and claim their inactive funds.

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