The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a centralised web portal called UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access Information) which allows people to search for their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks. The RBI said that through the new portal, users will be able to identify their unclaimed deposits or accounts and then either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative again. According to the central bank, an increasing trend has been observed in the amount of unclaimed deposits and the RBI has been undertaking several campaigns to raise awareness about it.
What are unclaimed deposits?
RBI describes unclaimed deposits as “balances in savings/current accounts which are not operated for 10 years, or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from date of maturity”. These unclaimed deposits are transferred by the respective banks to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) fund, which is maintained by RBI. People can still claim their deposits from the banks along with the interest.
Steps to register on UDGAM portal
1) Visit the RBI’s official UDGAM portal using the given link – https://udgam.rbi.org.in/unclaimed-deposits/#/register
2) Click on ‘Register’ and enter the required details such as your mobile number and name.
3) Set a password and enter the captcha code.
4) Enter the OTP sent to your mobile number to complete the registration.
Check unclaimed deposits using UDGAM portal
Once you have successfully registered on the portal, you will be required to follow certain steps to access your unclaimed deposits, if any.
1) Login using your credentials on the UDGAM portal.
2) Enter the account holder’s name and select your bank from the list.
3) Enter details of your PAN card, voter ID, driving licence, passport, or date of birth.
4) Click on ‘Search’.
6) Any unclaimed deposit account of yours will be displayed on your screen.
For now, users can search for unclaimed deposits across seven banks only. These include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd., South Indian Bank Ltd., DBS Bank India Ltd., and Citibank N.A.
The search facility for other banks will be made available by October 15.
