Scheme to return unclaimed funds act of faith

Talking about an initiative that returns unclaimed deposits, the PM said his government has bolstered the relationship of faith with citizens as part of a larger mission to 'eradicate colonial mindset'

- HT Correspondent

There was a trust deficit in the relationship between the government and the citizen for many decades but the current administration is reversing this trend with a slew of measures aimed at eradicating the colonial mindset, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

In his closing keynote address in the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, the PM held out an example of a new initiative that returns unclaimed sums in the country's banks, insurance firms and mutual funds to their rightful owners.

"You might be surprised with a new initiative we have taken. You'll be shocked to know that in the country's banks, our citizens have ₹78,000 crore lying unclaimed.

No one knows who owns the money or where it has come from. Similarly, in insurance firms, there is ₹14,000 crore rupees, mutual funds have ₹3,000 crore and ₹9,000 crore in dividends. All this is unclaimed, there is no owner," Modi said.

"This money belongs to the poor and middle class families. Those whose money it is might have forgotten but our government is now searching for them, and is trying to find the owners," he added.

The PM said the government has started setting up special camps to find the rightful owners for the money. "We have set up camps in at least 500 districts and thousands of crores have been given back to the rightful owners. There was no one to ask about the money. Modi is trying to find the people who left them and give it back to them," he said.

Modi underlined that it was not a simple case of returning of assets but a question of faith. "We are committed to relentlessly earning the faith of the public. And the faith of the public is our biggest capital. If there was a mindset of slavery, then these missions would have never been possible," he said.