The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that 30 banks have been included on the UDGAM portal to help individuals search and claim unclaimed deposits. The UDGAM portal was initially launched with only seven banks and now covers approximately 90% of unclaimed deposits in the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. The list of banks included on the portal comprises major public sector lenders such as SBI, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, and Bank of India. Foreign banks like Citibank, Standard Chartered, and HSBC, as well as private sector lenders such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, are also part of the list.
The UDGAM portal has been designed to help the public identify their unclaimed deposits and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks. The portal was developed through collaboration between the Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and participating banks. It aims to provide a systematic and convenient way for individuals to search for their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place.
As of February 2023, public sector banks (PSBs) have transferred approximately Rs 35,000 crore of unclaimed deposits to the RBI. These deposits are associated with accounts that have remained inactive for 10 years or longer. State Bank of India (SBI) tops the chart with unclaimed deposits worth Rs 8,086 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank with Rs 5,340 crore, Canara Bank with Rs 4,558 crore, and Bank of Baroda with Rs 3,904 crore.
In the usual course, unclaimed deposits that have been inactive in a bank for 10 years are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund maintained by the RBI. The inclusion of 30 banks on the UDGAM portal will provide individuals with a convenient and centralized platform to search for and claim their unclaimed deposits, ensuring greater transparency and accessibility.
For more details, Read more [here](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/30-banks-on-udgam-portal-to-help-people-claim-search-unclaimed-deposits-rbi/articleshow/104194709.cms).
