The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently rolled out a centralised portal called UDGAM (which stands for Unclaimed Deposits - Gateway to Access Information) for the public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.
This facility was earlier made available for seven banks and it was intimated to public that the search facility for the remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.
So, in view of that, the search facility for 30 banks was made available on September 28, 2023, covering nearly 90 percent of such unclaimed deposits (in value terms) in Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.
These 30 banks include SBI, PNB, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, South Indian Bank, DBS Bank, Citibank, Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, among others. One can find the entire list here.
What is UDGAM?
It is a centralised portal developed for the common people to enable them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.
The Reserve Bank of India announced the development of UDGAM for searching unclaimed deposits as part of the statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated April 6, 2023.
Given the increasing trend in the amount of unclaimed deposits, RBI has been undertaking public awareness campaigns from time to time to sensitise the public on this matter.
Further, through these initiatives, the RBI has been encouraging members of public to identify and approach their respective banks for claiming unclaimed deposits.
The launch of the web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.
To develop the portal, Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks have collaborated.
