Government Prepares to Launch Unified Portal for Unclaimed Financial Assets

The Finance Ministry is preparing a central portal that will allow citizens to search for unclaimed financial assets held across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and other regulated institutions, as per news reports.  

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) said it is working with the Reserve Bank of India to bring data from all regulators onto one system. This will replace the current setup where individuals must visit separate portals depending on the type of asset. 

Details Shared by DFS 

At an event hosted by Punjab National Bank, DFS Secretary M Nagaraju said the new platform will include every category of unclaimed amount. He said the fragmented processes often discourage people from filing claims because each regulator maintains its own database.  

The unified portal is intended to collect these records in one place and make searches more straightforward for citizens and families. 

Status of Recoveries 

The government’s outreach drive on unclaimed assets, which started in October and runs until the end of December, has returned ₹1,887 crore so far.  

The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund still hold about ₹3,201 crore in unclaimed bank deposits. More settlements are expected once the digital platform is live and more individuals can check their information through a single window. 

Regulatory Timelines 

Under existing rules, financial institutions must release unclaimed amounts quickly once documents are verified. According to RBI guidelines, amounts of ₹15 lakh or above must be returned within 15 days after the claimant submits the required papers.  

Authorities say delays usually happen when information needs to be confirmed across different systems, something the unified portal plans to reduce. 

Challenges Faced by Users 

People currently use a mix of platforms, including the RBI’s UDGAM portal, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ IEPF system, EPFO records, insurer websites and mutual fund repositories.  

Families dealing with old accounts or missing paperwork often find it difficult to trace deposits or investments due to mismatched details across these databases. 

Read More: Unclaimed Insurance Money: Over ₹25,000 Crore Lying Idle; Here’s How to Track and Claim Yours!  

Conclusion 

Bringing all unclaimed asset records into one portal is expected to create a single point of access and make it easier for citizens to initiate and complete their claims. 

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