Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi (pictured) is calling on Indian citizens to take part in the “Your Money, Your Right” movement, a nationwide effort focused on unclaimed insurance proceeds and other dormant financial assets.
In a LinkedIn post referring to comments he made at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Modi drew attention to the volume of unclaimed balances in the financial system and asked households to check whether they or their relatives have funds due to them. “Indian banks are holding Rs. 78,000 crore of unclaimed money belonging to our own citizens. Insurance companies have nearly Rs. 14,000 crore lying unclaimed. Mutual fund companies have around Rs. 3,000 crore and dividends worth Rs. 9,000 crore are also unclaimed. These facts have startled a lot of people. After all, these assets represent the hard-earned savings and investments of countless families,” Modi said.
Launched in October, the Your Money, Your Right initiative covers dormant amounts across banks, insurers, mutual funds, and listed companies, including life and non-life insurance payouts. Authorities are using a combination of online portals and in-person assistance to support tracing and claims. Modi said the objective is to “ensure every citizen can reclaim what is rightfully his or hers,” and urged individuals to review their own and their families’ positions, visit the designated portals, and use facilitation camps where needed.
The public campaign was formally launched in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, with central and state officials and representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and other financial-sector bodies in attendance.
At the launch, Sitharaman said the initiative is meant to draw attention to unclaimed balances across products including deposits, insurance, mutual funds, and pensions. “Unclaimed deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, mutual fund balances, and pensions are not mere entries on paper; they represent the hard-earned savings of ordinary families – savings that can support education, healthcare, and financial security,” Sitharaman said.
The campaign is described by officials as resting on three main elements: raising public awareness of unclaimed financial assets, improving access to information and claim channels, and prompting individuals to initiate claims. Digital demonstrations, helpdesks, and district-level facilitation camps are being used as part of the rollout from October to December. According to Modi, facilitation camps had been held in 477 districts across rural and urban India by December, including in remote areas. He said that, through coordinated work by the government, regulators, banks, insurers, and other financial institutions, nearly Rs. 2,000 crore had been returned to identified owners.
Modi encouraged citizens to check for unclaimed deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, and investments; visit the official portals; and “make use of facilitation camps in your district” – adding that individuals should “act now to claim what is yours and convert a forgotten financial asset into a new opportunity.”
To implement the initiative, sectoral regulators and ministries are using dedicated portals that consolidate data on unclaimed amounts and set out processes for submitting claims. For insurers, IRDAI’s Bima Bharosa portal allows policyholders and beneficiaries to search for unclaimed policy proceeds reported by insurers. The RBI’s UDGAM portal provides a similar function for unclaimed bank deposits and balances, SEBI’s MITRA portal covers unclaimed amounts in mutual funds, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ IEPFA portal is used for unpaid dividends and unclaimed shares.
Officials say the portals are intended to reduce fragmentation of information by offering a common access point, while requiring participating institutions to upload unclaimed amounts and keep underlying records updated. For insurers, this includes maintaining policyholder and beneficiary information, matching records to claims, and responding to verified requests within prescribed timelines.
Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary Shri M. Nagaraju outlined the broader stock of unclaimed funds as of August. More than ₹75,000 crore in unclaimed deposits has been moved to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness Fund. Unclaimed insurance proceeds exceed ₹13,800 crore, mutual fund balances are around ₹3,000 crore, and unpaid dividends total more than ₹9,000 crore. Nagaraju said that outcomes will depend on both citizen participation and how financial institutions manage the claims process. “Claims must be processed quickly, fairly, and without unnecessary hurdles to citizens, so that they walk away with clarity and confidence,” Nagaraju said.
The DFS is coordinating the initiative at the national level, working with RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), and a range of financial institutions. At the launch, officials pointed to recent know-your-customer (KYC) campaigns by regional rural banks and other organisations as an example of measures that can help keep customer information current and limit the build-up of future unclaimed balances.
