{
 "name": "Unclaimed Bank Deposits & the DEA Fund (India)",
 "unit": "Rs crore",
 "dashboard": "https://bankpulse.ai/dashboards/unclaimed-deposits/",
 "source": "RBI Annual Report / DEA Fund Scheme, 2014 / UDGAM portal",
 "reviewed_by": "Vikram Jain",
 "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
 "updated": "2026-06-22T00:11:31+05:30",
 "dateModified": "2026-06-22T00:11:31+05:30",
 "method": "Pool of unclaimed deposits transferred to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund by year-end March, on an RBI Annual Report framing. Year-on-year change partly reflects fuller reporting.",
 "note": "Rounded and approximate; NOT in the Verified-numbers ledger pending reviewer sign-off. Deposits idle 10 years go to the RBI DEA Fund (Section 26A, BR Act 1949; DEA Fund Scheme 2014). The depositor never loses the right to claim — reclaim via the bank; search across banks on UDGAM (live 17 Aug 2023). Pool ~Rs 78,000 crore by Mar 2024.",
 "reclaim_steps": [
  {
   "stage": "Account goes dormant",
   "detail": "A savings or current account with no customer-initiated transaction for 2 years is classified 'inoperative'/'dormant'. A term deposit not renewed or withdrawn also falls idle."
  },
  {
   "stage": "Ten years idle",
   "detail": "If a deposit (or any credit balance) is not operated or claimed for 10 years, the bank must hand it over to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund."
  },
  {
   "stage": "Transferred to the DEA Fund",
   "detail": "Banks transfer such balances monthly to the DEA Fund maintained by the RBI under Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The RBI invests the corpus and uses the income for depositor-awareness work."
  },
  {
   "stage": "The depositor can still claim",
   "detail": "Crucially, the depositor (or legal heir) never loses the right to the money. They claim it from the bank as usual; the bank pays the depositor and then claims a refund from the DEA Fund, with interest where due on interest-bearing deposits."
  }
 ],
 "series": [
  {
   "period": "Mar 2021",
   "dea_fund_rs_crore": 24000,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "Pool of deposits inactive 10+ years and moved to the RBI's DEA Fund"
  },
  {
   "period": "Mar 2022",
   "dea_fund_rs_crore": 33000,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "Steady rise as more long-dormant accounts cross the 10-year line"
  },
  {
   "period": "Mar 2023",
   "dea_fund_rs_crore": 42000,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "RBI launches the 100-Days-100-Pays campaign to trace and settle dormant accounts"
  },
  {
   "period": "Mar 2024",
   "dea_fund_rs_crore": 78000,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "Sharp jump, partly reflecting fuller reporting; UDGAM search portal now live"
  }
 ]
}