Balances in savings / current accounts which are not operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from date of maturity are classified as “Unclaimed Deposits”. These amounts are transferred by banks to “Depositor Education and Awareness” (DEA) Fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India. The depositors are, however, still entitled to claim the deposits at a later date from the bank(s) where such deposits were held along with interest, as applicable. However, despite public awareness campaigns undertaken by banks as well as RBI from time to time, the amount of Unclaimed Deposit is showing an increasing trend.

The growing volume of Unclaimed Deposits arise mainly due to non-closure of savings / current accounts which depositors do not intend to operate anymore or due to not submitting redemption claims with banks for matured fixed deposits. There are also cases of accounts belonging to deceased depositors, where the nominees/ legal heirs do not come forward to make a claim on the bank(s) concerned. To help such depositors or the nominees / legal heirs of deceased depositors identify and claim the deposits, banks already host the list of Unclaimed Deposits on their website with some identifiable details. Members of public are encouraged to identify and approach the bank concerned for claiming such deposits.

Yogesh Dayal

Chief General ManagerPress Release: 2022-2023/S84

The Reserve Bank of India recently launched a centralised web portal called UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) for individuals to search such deposits across multiple banks in one place.

What are unclaimed deposits

According to RBI, balances in savings or current accounts which are not operated for ten years, or term deposits not claimed within ten years from the date of maturity are classified as unclaimed deposits.

The platform will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposit accounts and enable them to either claim the same or make them operational at their respective banks. Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and participating banks have collaborated on developing the portal.

How to access

Individuals will have to register to access and check for unclaimed deposits on the platform. Users will have to head to the UDGAM portal and enter the relevant details, including name and contact details. 

Users need to have the PAN, voter ID, driving license number and passport details of the account holder handy. Upon entering relevant details, individuals would be able to look out for unclaimed deposits of the account holder.

At present, the following seven banks are available on the portal;

RBI had said that the search facility for remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.