RBI Udgam Portal News: The Reserve Bank of India has launched a centralised web portal – UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation).
RBI Udgam Portal News: The Reserve Bank of India has launched a centralised web portal – UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation) – which will enable bank customers to find their unclaimed deposits. In a statement, the RBI said this portal will make it easier for the public to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place.
It is estimated that the total amount of unclaimed deposits in India is Rs 35,000 crore while numerous accounts have been forgotten or overlooked.
The RBI had announced the decision to set up a centralised web portal for searching unclaimed deposits as part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated April 06, 2023.
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“The UDGAM portal will ease the process of redeeming unclaimed deposits. The new centralised web portal will be the perfect platform for the users to search and identify their unclaimed deposits/accounts across multiple banks through a single window,” said Ankit Garg, Advocate & Founder Garg Law Chamber.
RBI Udgam Portal Login Link
The link to login on the RBI Udgam Portal is: https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/login
According to RBI, users would be initially able to access details of their unclaimed deposits in respect of seven banks presently available on the portal.
Currently, six banks are live for individuals. These are SBI, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, South Indian Bank, DBS Bank India. For non-individuals, Citibank is live on the portal.
RBI Udgam Portal Registration Process
Users have to first register on Udgam Portal with their mobile number, name and set-up password. After registering, log in to the portal and enter any 1 search criteria and select the bank. Selection of multiple bank accounts to search unclaimed deposits is also allowed.
Once you enter the above details, the portal will show your unclaimed deposits lying in any of the banks selected by you.
How will Udgam Portal help users?
According to Garg, this Udgam Portal will bring more transparency by providing a centralised and more comprehensive platform to locate such investments. It will also ease the process of documentation and follow-ups for the claimants as they will have real-time access to their claims.
“Through the new portal, users can also make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks. Now, unclaimed deposits after ten years of inactivity can be claimed in a more systematic manner through this initiative. Getting access to unclaimed deposits from seven banks available on the portal will be a simple task for the users,” said Garg.
What kind of deposits can be searched through Udgam portal?
Unclaimed fixed deposits, term deposits, balance in savings accounts, current accounts etc. which are not claimed/operated for 10 years and were transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) can now be searched and identified through the UDGAM portal.
Why this portal?
Any deposits in a savings or current bank account or fixed deposit is classified as “Unclaimed Deposits” if it has not been operated for 10 years.
“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,” RBI says on its website.
Even as unclaimed deposits are transferred to DEA, bank depositors are entitled to claim such deposits along with interest from the bank where such deposits were held.
In a statement in July 2022, the RBI noted that unclaimed deposits were increasing despite efforts to raise public awareness.
“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,” RBI had said.
Why unclaimed deposits have increased
According to RBI’s press release dated 22nd July 2022, the growing volume of unclaimed deposits is mainly due to the 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,” RBI had said.
