Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hands over certificates to beneficiaries who successfully reclaimed their unclaimed deposits from various institutions, in Gandhinagar today.
Government’s 3A Strategy to Help Citizens Retrieve Unclaimed Funds
Gandhinagar: The Government of India today launched a nationwide financial awareness campaign titled “Aapki Poonji, Aapka Adhikar” (Your Money, Your Right), aimed at helping citizens reclaim over ₹1.84 lakh crore in unclaimed financial assets.
The campaign was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in the presence of Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services M. Nagaraju, and senior financial officials.
The unclaimed assets consist of deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, mutual fund balances, pensions, and shares dormant across various banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and pension funds. According to official data shared by the Department of Financial Services as of August 2025, over ₹75,000 crore of unclaimed bank deposits have been transferred to the Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund; unclaimed insurance proceeds amount to about ₹13,800 crore; unclaimed mutual fund balances total approximately ₹3,000 crore; unpaid dividends exceed ₹9,000 crore; and nearly 172 crore shares have been transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund.
The campaign aims to improve public knowledge on tracing and claiming these assets.
Sitharaman underscored the importance of recovering these assets, stating, “Unclaimed deposits are not mere entries on paper; they represent the hard-earned savings of ordinary families—savings that can support education, healthcare, and financial security.” She assured citizens, “It is absolutely safe. You come with proper papers and the money will be given to you. The government is the custodian for it.”
Addressing the gathering, she urged individuals to become ambassadors of the campaign: “Everyone should become an ambassador of this mission, reach out to friends and family, and guide them in claiming what is rightfully theirs.”
The campaign is structured around three pillars—Awareness, Accessibility, and Action. Awareness focuses on informing citizens about their unclaimed assets; Accessibility aims to provide simplified digital tools and local assistance; and Action ensures timely and transparent claims processing. The campaign will run through December 2025, covering every district across all states and union territories. To facilitate participation, digital demonstrations and help desks will be established at the district level.
Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai highlighted the campaign as a major step in citizen-centric governance and assured that the state machinery would expedite the settlement of unclaimed financial assets. He emphasized that these assets could support education and empowerment initiatives for beneficiaries.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a message conveyed during the event, described the campaign as a collective effort to strengthen public trust and promote financial empowerment. The government’s coordination involves the Department of Financial Services in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), and Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA).
The drive builds upon India’s ongoing financial inclusion successes like Jan Dhan Yojana, UPI, and Direct Benefit Transfers, seeking to not only provide access to financial services but also ensure rightful recovery of dormant funds by citizens across the country.
The Finance Minister also acknowledged the proactive role of regional rural banks, particularly, Gujarat Gramin Bank, and other financial institutions, in the recent KYC and re-KYC campaigns, noting that these efforts have strengthened the link between citizens and the formal financial system.
“Undertaken across villages and towns, such initiatives have ensured that beneficiaries remain connected to their savings and entitlements, laying a strong foundation for the success of the current campaign”, the Union Minister said.
Sitharaman urged all institutions to carry forward the same dedication and outreach in this nationwide initiative on unclaimed financial assets, so that no citizen remains separated from their rightful money.
The campaign represents a significant push by the central government to ensure that every rupee saved by citizens is returned to them or their families, reinforcing transparency and trust in India’s financial ecosystem, the Union Finance Ministry stated.
– global bihari bureau
