On 4 October 2025, Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched a landmark nationwide awareness campaign titled “आपकी पूँजी, आपका अधिकार” (“Your Money, Your Right”) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, aimed at enabling citizens to trace, claim, and recover unclaimed financial assets held with banks, regulators, insurance firms, mutual funds, provident funds, dividends, etc.
This campaign marks a significant step in the government’s pursuit of financial inclusion, citizen empowerment, and restoring trust in the financial ecosystem. Below is a detailed exploration of the campaign—its rationale, scale, mechanisms, and key action points.
1. Why the Campaign?
A. Magnitude of Unclaimed Assets
According to the Department of Financial Services (DFS), as of August 2025, a staggering ₹1.84 lakh crore (~ ₹1.84 trillion) worth of financial assets are lying unclaimed across various institutions.
These unclaimed assets are held across multiple categories:
- Bank deposits (savings, fixed deposits)
- Unpaid dividends / shares / securities
- Insurance claim proceeds / maturity benefits
- Mutual fund units or balances
- Provident fund / pension / retirement dues
- Others (e.g. amounts transferred to Investor Education & Protection Fund)
Additionally, as part of the existing mechanism, ₹75,000+ crore of unclaimed bank deposits had already been transferred to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund. Unclaimed insurance proceeds are estimated at ~ ₹13,800 crore, mutual fund balances at ~ ₹3,000 crore, and unpaid dividends over ₹9,000 crore.
This backlog is not just a bookkeeping issue—it represents real money belonging to citizens or their legal heirs which is lying dormant, often because of lack of awareness, lost records, inactivity, or outdated KYC / contact information.
B. The Case for Reclaiming
In launching the campaign, the Finance Minister emphasized that these unclaimed amounts are not mere entries in accounts — they are hard-earned savings of individuals and families.
Recovering them can support financial security, education, healthcare, retirement needs, or emergency funds for rightful owners or their estates. The campaign is also intended to restore citizen confidence, reduce administrative burden in future, and strengthen the link between people and the formal financial sector.
2. Core Pillars of the Campaign: The “3 A’s”
To make the initiative effective and citizen-centric, the campaign is built around three guiding principles, often referred to as the “3 A’s”:
- Awareness
The first step is to inform citizens that unclaimed assets exist, and that they have the right to reclaim them. This includes publicity drives, outreach, digital & physical awareness, and encouragement of community-level information dissemination. - Accessibility
It must be easy for individuals to search, verify, and submit claims. The government plans to provide digital tools (portals, apps), district-level help desks, camps, exhibitions, and “on-the-spot” assistance for those who lack digital access. - Action
Once claims are made, the procedure must be time-bound, transparent, and free of undue hurdles. Authorities will be tasked with efficient processing so that rightful claimants receive their dues promptly.
The Finance Minister emphasized that combined, these pillars will help bridge the gap between citizens and financial institutions so that every individual can reclaim their savings with dignity and ease.
3. Institutional Framework & Stakeholders
The campaign is being coordinated by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with key regulators and entities:
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
- Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA)
- Banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension institutions as implementing agencies
These agencies will coordinate and harmonize processes, SOPs (standard operating procedures), FAQs, and claim mechanisms. The campaign will also leverage RBI’s UDGAM portal (Unclaimed Deposits — Gateway to Access Information) to aid tracing and claims.
At the launch event, the Prime Minister (via message) and Home Minister also extended their support, underscoring that this is more than a financial campaign— it is intended to build public trust, transparency, and empowerment.
4. How the Campaign Will Unfold
A. Duration & Phases
The campaign is scheduled to operate over a three-month period (October to December 2025) across all States and Union Territories.
In this period, outreach efforts such as district-level camps, help desks, exhibitions, digital demonstrations, and claim assistance booths will be set up.
B. Claim Mechanisms & Process
- Citizens will be able to search for unclaimed deposits via the UDGAM portal maintained by the RBI.
- For other unclaimed assets (insurance, mutual funds, dividends), relevant regulators and institutions will publish portability tools / portals or interfaces to track and submit claims.
- At physical help desks or camps, staff will assist individuals in verifying identity, furnishing documents, filling forms, and submitting claims.
- Claims will be processed under time-bound regulations and disbursed once verified. The campaign stresses no unnecessary hurdles and transparency in claim settlement.
C. Outreach & Communications
To maximize reach, the government is deploying:
- Mass media campaigns (print, TV, radio)
- Social media and digital promotions
- Collaborations with local governments and community organizations
- “Ambassador” programs — citizens can themselves spread the word
- KYC / re-KYC drives by banks and regional rural banks to link accounts to active profiles.
The Finance Minister called upon institutions to proactively engage in spreading awareness, and encouraged citizens to act as ambassadors in their neighborhoods.
5. Challenges & Considerations
While the campaign is ambitious and landmark, it will need to navigate certain challenges:
- Awareness gap: Many citizens may be unaware that they have unclaimed assets or hesitant to probe old accounts.
- Document unavailability: Some individuals may lack old KYC, proof of identity, or transaction records.
- Coordination across regulators: Harmonizing systems (banks, IRDAI, SEBI, PFRDA) is complex.
- Disbursement logistics: Validating claims and ensuring timely transfer to rightful claimants, especially in rural or remote areas, will require robust processes.
- Fraud prevention: Ensuring that claims are genuine, avoiding impersonation or fraudulent submissions will be crucial.
- Digital divide: Some citizens, especially in rural or marginalized areas, may lack digital access or literacy; hence robust offline support is essential.
The success of the campaign will depend on the seamless partnership between regulators, financial institutions, state governments, and local stakeholders.
6. What Citizens Should Do — Step-by-Step
Here’s a simple guide for individuals eager to check and reclaim their unclaimed financial assets:
- Visit the UDGAM portal (for unclaimed bank deposits).
- Check for unclaimed deposits / balances under their names.
- For insurance, mutual funds, dividends, shares, check with the relevant institutions or regulators’ portals.
- Gather required identity / address / bank account documents and proof of claim.
- Submit the claim via online portal or at designated help desks / camps.
- Track status and follow up if needed.
- Spread awareness among family, neighbors, and community: someone else may have unclaimed assets waiting.
Authorities urge citizens not to delay—every rupee matters, and this campaign is a once-in-a-generation push to reunite people with their own money.
7. Broader Impacts & Significance
- Strengthening financial inclusion: Goes beyond access to services; ensures people reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
- Restoring confidence: Citizens will perceive the financial system as more responsive, equitable, and just.
- Institutional accountability: Regulators and institutions will be pushed toward more efficient, transparent operations and better record-keeping.
- Digital & procedural enhancement: Encourages innovation in claim portals, standardization, interoperability, and streamlined KYC / identity systems.
- Social equity: Many unclaimed funds may belong to marginalized or unaware segments; this helps correct systemic neglect.
8. Conclusion
The “आपकी पूँजी, आपका अधिकार (Your Money, Your Right)” campaign is more than a financial exercise—it is a citizens’ rights movement. By mobilizing across regulators, institutions, and grassroots channels, the government seeks to ensure that dormant, forgotten, or overlooked financial assets find their rightful owners.
If implemented well, this initiative could become a watershed moment in India’s financial inclusion journey—one where citizens not only gain access to formal finance, but also confidence, dignity, and retrieval of their own savings.
