Govt likely to push banks to return unclaimed deposits to rightful owners

The government will nudge banks to begin a drive to trace unclaimed account holders or their legal heirs to return their deposits as the quantum of such funds has swelled to more than ₹78,000 crore, officials said.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

The drive will build on learnings from a similar campaign launched last year and have "more aspirational" targets, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had launched the "100 Days 100 Pays" campaign in mid-2023 to help depositors reclaim funds from inactive savings, current or term deposit accounts before their transfer to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.