Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. Usually every one keeps his/her money in the bank to keep it safe. But often some people forget their hard-earned money or for some reason the money remains in the bank. According to an information released by the government sources, Rs 5,729 crores are deposited in the banks and no one has come forward to claim this amount. Banks cannot find claimants for such a huge stash of more than five thousand crores deposited in various savings accounts and FDs in the last five years. Sources added that the work is on to find out exactly who this money belongs to adding that the total of Rs 5,729 crore has been transferred to banks from the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund for early settlement of unclaimed deposits in the last 5 years.. Even the central bank RBI has now asked to settle this amount at the earliest.

The RBI has launched a special initiative to ensure that unclaimed money reaches its rightful place and reaches its rightful owner. Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a reply in the Lok Sabha said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified "Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme 2014". It includes rules for unclaimed deposits and details of utilization of funds. Unclaimed amounts will be distributed under this initiative.

How much is deposited in the DEA in banks?

Various banks have deposited unclaimed amount in depositor education and awareness fund. Public sector banks have deposited non-entitled deposits of Rs 36,185 crore in the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund till March 31, 2023. In March 2019, this amount was Rs 15,090 crore, while private banks have deposited Rs 6,087 crore in depositor education and awareness fund till March 31, 2023. As per PIB release, RBI has taken several steps to reduce the amount of unclaimed deposits and return such deposits to the rightful claimants. One of these campaigns is the 100 Day 100 Campaign Plan. The money will be returned to the respective banks after tracing the owners of 100 unclaimed deposits in every district of the country in 100 days from January 6, 2023 to September 8, 2023.

How to check your name in the unclaimed amount list?

If you are entitled to any unclaimed amount and are a customer of PNB, you can visit www.pnbindia.in/inoperative-accounts.aspx and check the information. HDFC bank and SBI bank customers can check by visiting their websites. You can easily open your closed savings account or any other account. Customers have to visit the nearest branch and submit the form to activate it. In case of non-personal accounts, valid proof of address, valid identity card, registered document will be mandatory.