UDGAM Portal: 30 Banks Live, Supreme Court Hearing
Why in the news
During a Supreme Court hearing on May 5, 2026, the RBI reported that 30 large banks, holding 90% of unclaimed money, now feature on the UDGAM portal. The hearing arose from a PIL by journalist Sucheta Dalal on legal heirs’ troubles in reaching a dead person’s assets.
Key facts
- UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access iNforMation) is an RBI-launched single web platform to look up unclaimed deposits across banks.
- Usage up to April 1, 2026: 20 lakh users and 44 lakh searches.
- Principle of “trace, not claim”: death certificates, KYC and the actual payout are handled by the concerned bank.
- Search needs mobile-number registration, the account holder’s name and one more input such as PAN, Aadhaar or date of birth.
About the DEAF corpus
- A balance untouched for 10 years or more is treated as an unclaimed deposit and shifted to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF), run by the RBI.
- The government does not take the money. Depositors or heirs may still claim at any time through the bank, which then gets a refund from the RBI.
- On settlement, the RBI pays the principal plus interest at a rate it fixes from time to time.
- An account turns inoperative after over two years without customer-initiated transactions.
Concerns
- Advocate Prashant Bhushan pointed out that Post Office savings, EPF and insurance policies remain outside UDGAM, leaving families with a scattered search.
- The Court gave the Centre and SEBI one week to explain plans for easier return of unclaimed money across all financial institutions.
Exam angle
- Full form and purpose of UDGAM.
- Time limit for DEAF transfer: 10 years.
- Not yet integrated: Post Office schemes, EPF, insurance.