Financial property price 1.84 lakh crore mendacity unclaimed with banks, regulators: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (October 4, 2025) mentioned monetary property price ₹1.84 lakh crore had been mendacity unclaimed with banks and regulators, and officers want to make sure these attain the rightful house owners.

Ms. Sitharaman launched the three-month Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar (Your Money, Your Right) marketing campaign from Gandhinagar within the presence of Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai and senior officers from the banks and the Finance Ministry.

Speaking on the event, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs mentioned that monetary property price ₹1.84 lakh crore had been mendacity unclaimed with banks and regulators within the type of financial institution deposits, insurance coverage, provident fund or shares.

She urged officers to work on three As — Awareness, Access and Action — to make sure these unclaimed property attain rightful house owners through the three-month-long marketing campaign.

“Unclaimed monies are lying with the banks or with the RBI or with the IEPF [Investor Education and Protection Fund]. We have to find the rightful owners and claimants of those funds and hand the money over to them,” Mr. Sitharaman mentioned.

“As per the DFS [Department of Financial Services], ₹1,84,000 crore is lying there. It is safe. I can assure you it is absolutely safe. You come when you want with proper papers. Money will be given to you. The government is the custodian for it. It can be through the bank or through SEBI. It can be through any other agency. But it is lying there in safe custody,” she assured.

If the asset stays unclaimed for a very long time as a result of any purpose, it will get transferred from one entity to a different, the Minister mentioned.

From banks, it goes to the RBI in case of deposits, and in case of shares or comparable property, it goes from SEBI to “another centre or the IEPF”, she mentioned.

“The RBI has created the UDGAM [Unclaimed Deposits Gateway To Access Information] portal. So, it is moving from one unclaimed area to another, which is holding this unclaimed deposit. The moment you claim it, you get it. So, I honestly think it is high time that all of us spread the word to everyone,” Ms. Sitharaman mentioned.

On the ‘consciousness’ entrance, the minister urged authorities and financial institution officers to create consciousness amongst individuals in order that they arrive ahead and declare their rightful property, resembling insurance coverage insurance policies mendacity unclaimed regardless of maturity.

“The first A is awareness. Build awareness. Tell them that your money is lying there, come with this document and take it. You can become ambassadors and tell people if they have yet to claim their rightful asset. Just ask them to find the papers and register on the portal,” she mentioned.

The minister additional spoke about extending “access” to these rightful claimants, both by RBI’s UDGAM portal or stalls created by banks for this function.

“The third A is action, where you [officials] act on whatever you have, like small bits of papers,” she mentioned, including {that a} “concerted attempt” will make the marketing campaign profitable.

Ms. Sitharaman mentioned that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who persuaded her and the ministry to “move from one place to another and call up people asking them to claim their dues. So, bridge the gap and make sure people can take it.”

Ms. Sitharaman additionally lauded the Gujarat Gramin Bank for assuring her that its officers would go to each village within the state to search for rightful house owners of unclaimed deposits mendacity within the financial institution.