Mumbai: A staggering Rs 48,461.44 crore of money is lying unclaimed in the treasuries of a dozen banks in India. To put it in perspective, this amount is almost equivalent to the Union government’s FY 2022-’23 budgetary allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for the completion of 80 lakh homes under the PM Awas Yojana in urban and rural areas. The unclaimed amount lies in lakhs of current accounts, savings accounts, fixed and other deposits.
Of the Rs 48,461.44 crore lying unclaimed, Rs 34,146.10 crore belonged to just 12 banks, as on March 31, 2023. This data was brought to light when a Right to Information applicant, Mansoor Umer Darvesh, filed an application with the Ministry of Finance, who transferred it to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Darvesh sought to know the reason for the unclaimed amounts, which was not shared, as the information officer considered it as “an opinion, and not information” as defined under the RTI Act, 2005.
SBI Tops Chart Of Unclaimed Money In Bank Vaults
India’s largest public sector bank – the State Bank of India, tops the chart, with Rs 8,952.21 crore. Punjab National Bank is a distant second, with Rs 5,345.97 crore. Canara Bank has Rs 4,603.78 crore set aside, as it has not been claimed by the account holders or their nominees for over a decade now. As there are no nominees or next of kin nor have the account holders come forward to claim the funds, as per RBI regulations, this money has been transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF).
Details Of Unclaimed Money:
RBI Directs Banks To Identify Accounts With No Transaction In 10 Years
The RBI has mandated all the banks to identify accounts where there has been no customer-initiated transaction for a period of more than 10 years. The regulation states that the banks are required to transfer the credit balance in such accounts to the DEAF. This fund was established by the RBI in 2014,.
It isn’t impossible to claim these funds, even if the money gets transferred to the DEAF. As per procedure, the bank, after verifying the genuineness of the claim, will release the payment. When the payment is made to the account holder, the bank will lodge a claim with the RBI, to get a refund from the DEAF account. The dormant account too can be revived and made operational.
PIL To Be Heard In Supreme Court
A public interest litigation (PIL) is being heard in the Supreme Court, pertaining to the money lying in the DEAF. The plea, filed by the Moneylife Foundation Founder-Trustee Sucheta Dalal and contested by noted senior counsel Prashant Bhushan, seeks a mechanism to inform the legal heirs of unclaimed account holders.
