Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched a nationwide campaign titled Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar (Your Money, Your Right) to facilitate the return of ₹1.84 trillion in unclaimed financial assets to their rightful owners. The initiative was unveiled in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in the presence of state Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai and senior officials from the banking and finance sectors.
The three-month campaign will focus on three key pillars — Awareness, Access, and Action — aimed at helping citizens identify and reclaim unclaimed assets such as bank deposits, insurance proceeds, provident fund balances, mutual fund investments, and shares. Sitharaman emphasized that these funds, currently held by banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), are safe and will be returned upon submission of valid documentation.
“As per the Department of Financial Services, ₹1.84 lakh crore is lying unclaimed. It is absolutely safe. The government is merely the custodian,” Sitharaman stated. She urged officials to proactively reach out to potential claimants and assist them in navigating the recovery process.
The RBI’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information) portal will serve as a central platform for individuals to trace and claim their unclaimed deposits. Banks have also been directed to set up help desks and conduct outreach programs to raise awareness, especially in rural areas. Gujarat Gramin Bank, for instance, has pledged to send officials to every village in the state to locate rightful owners of dormant accounts.
Sitharaman credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for championing the initiative and encouraging the ministry to bridge the gap between custodians and claimants. She also explained the institutional flow of unclaimed assets — from banks to RBI in the case of deposits, and from SEBI to IEPF for stocks and mutual funds — and stressed the need for a coordinated effort to resolve long-standing asset recovery issues.
The campaign comes at a time when financial inclusion and transparency are key priorities for the government. Officials reported that over ₹450 crore in claims have already been processed and returned to citizens in the past month, signaling early success for the initiative.
