HomeCirculars › RBI/2013-14/656

DEAF Scheme 2014: Operational Guidelines Clarified

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/656 · issued 25 Jun 2014 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI clarifies that banks must transfer unclaimed deposits (including accrued interest) to the DEAF Fund via E-Kuber portal by month-end. Interest on claims accrues only from transfer date to payment date, and only for interest-bearing deposits.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A credit & lending officer in Indore, Priya, logs into the E-Kuber portal on the last working day of the month. She carefully enters the total amount and number of accounts for interest-bearing deposits in the 'Interest bearing' field, non-interest-bearing deposits in the 'Non-interest bearing' field, and other credits in the 'Others' field. This ensures her bank correctly transfers unclaimed funds to the DEAF Fund, and she knows that if a customer later claims their money, interest will be paid only from the transfer date for interest-bearing deposits.

What changed

RBI provided clarifications on the operational guidelines for the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) Scheme, 2014. It specified that banks must use the E-Kuber portal's 'DEAF Service' menu to remit amounts due, with separate fields for interest-bearing, non-interest-bearing, and other credits. The circular also clarified that interest on claims from the Fund accrues only from the date of transfer to the Fund until payment, and only for interest-bearing deposits.

What it means for you

Banks must ensure accurate classification and timely transfer of unclaimed deposits to the DEAF Fund via E-Kuber. The interest calculation for claims is now clearly defined, reducing ambiguity. This impacts how banks handle inoperative accounts and unclaimed balances, requiring strict adherence to monthly transfer deadlines.

What you must do

Who it affects

All Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs and LABs, Urban Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks

❓ Common questions

When must banks transfer unclaimed deposits to the DEAF Fund?

Banks must transfer amounts due each calendar month by the last working day of that month, within banking hours, using the E-Kuber portal.

How is interest calculated on claims from the DEAF Fund?

Interest on claims accrues only from the date the deposit was transferred to the Fund until the date of payment to the customer, and only for interest-bearing deposits. No interest is payable on non-interest-bearing amounts.

What should banks do for the initial transfer due on June 30, 2014?

Banks must calculate cumulative balances in all accounts along with accrued interest as of May 22, 2014, and transfer the entire amount (including accrued interest) to the Fund by June 30, 2014.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/656 DBOD.No.DEAF Cell.BC.123/30.01.002/2013-14 June 25, 2014 The Chairman and Managing Director / Chief Executive Officers All Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs and LABs / Urban Co-operative Banks / State Co-operative Banks / District Central Co-operative Banks. Dear Sir/Madam, The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 –Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949- Clarifications on Operational Guidelines Please refer to the circular DBOD.No.DEAF Cell.BC.114/30.01.002/2013-14 dated May 27, 2014 on the captioned subject. 2. As mentioned in paragraph 2 of the above circular, banks are required to remit the  amounts due (as explained in the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) Scheme, 2014 (Scheme)), in electronic form through  portal facility of the E-Kuber (Core Banking Solution) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to a designated account created for the Scheme, viz. , “ DEAF Account 161001006009” . The facility is available under the menu “DEAF Service” of the E-Kuber portal.  For better understanding of the “DEAF Service”, the indicative screen shots of the portal are enclosed in the Annex. Accordingly, the amount required to be transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (Fund) in terms of paragraphs 3(vi) and 3(vii) of the Scheme, can be credited to the DEAF Account, specified above, maintained with RBI, within banking hours on the last working day of the month. Banks are advised that in the ‘Interest bearing’ field available in E-Kuber, the amount and number of accounts of only interest bearing  deposits  may  be  indicated.  In  the  ‘Non- interest  bearing’  field  available  in E-Kuber, the amount and number of accounts of non-interest bearing deposits alone may be indicated. In the ‘Others’ field available in E-Kuber, the amount and number of accounts of other credits (other than interest bearing and non-interest bearing deposits) may be indicated. Other credits would be non-interest bearing. 3. As specified in paragraph 4(ii) of the Scheme, the interest payable, if any, from the Fund on a claim shall accrue only from the date on which the balance in an account was transferred to the Fund till the date of payment to the customer/depositor. Interest would be payable by the Fund, on a claim, if any, only on interest bearing deposits, from the date of transfer to the Fund. No interest shall be payable in respect of amounts refunded from the Fund, in respect of which no interest was payable by the bank to its customer/depositor. 4. As per paragraph 3(vi) of the Scheme, banks shall calculate the cumulative balances in all accounts along with interest accrued, as on the day prior to the effective date, i.e , May 23, 2014 and such amounts due should be transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (Fund) on June 30, 2014 before the close of banking hours. However, as regards the calculation of interest accrued on such accounts, it has been clearly indicated in paragraph 3(v) of the Scheme that “A bank shall transfer to the Fund the entire amount as specified in sub-paragraph (iii), including the accrued interest that the bank would have been required to pay to the customer/ depositor as on the date of transfer to the Fund”. It is once again clarified that in all such unclaimed interest bearing deposits that would be transferred to the Fund by the banks on June 30, 2014, interest accrued should be credited in the account till the date of transfer to the Fund. Illustratively, if a bank transfers to the Fund any unclaimed Saving Bank account balance on June 30, 2014 the interest up to and for June 29, 2014 would be paid into the account by the bank. The Fund would pay interest with effect from June 30, 2014  till the date of payment to the customer, at the interest rate notified by the Reserve Bank from time to time. 5. Subsequently, as mentioned in paragraph 3(vii) of the Scheme, banks shall transfer to the Fund the amounts becoming due in each calendar month, ( i.e ., proceeds of the inoperative accounts and balances remaining unclaimed for ten years or more) as specified in the Scheme, and the interest accrued on interest bearing accounts till the date of transfer, on the last working day of the subsequent month. 6.  Before transferring the balances to the Fund as above, banks have to ensure that all legal obligations relating to the same, till that date, including those pertaining to taxes deductible and payable, are met or adequate arrangements are made therefor. Yours faithfully, (Sudarshan Sen) Chief General Manager Encl: As above
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/656 · issued 25 Jun 2014. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
🧰 Tools — save, print, templates & related
Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Remit unclaimed deposit amounts (including accrued interest) to the DEAF Account via E-Kuber portal by the last working day of each month.
📜 Compliance
  • Correctly classify deposits in E-Kuber fields: interest-bearing, non-interest-bearing, and others (non-interest bearing).
  • Calculate and credit accrued interest on interest-bearing deposits up to the date of transfer to the Fund.
  • Ensure the initial transfer of cumulative balances (as of May 22, 2014) is completed by June 30, 2014.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are an IT/Systems lead at a bank this circular applies to (All Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs and LABs, Urban Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks), your first concrete step on “DEAF Scheme 2014: Operational Guidelines Clarified” is: “Remit unclaimed deposit amounts (including accrued interest) to the DEAF Account via E-Kuber portal by the last working day of each month.” (RBI issued this 25 Jun 2014).

  1. Circular: RBI/2013-14/656 -- DEAF Scheme 2014: Operational Guidelines Clarified
  2. Issued: 25 Jun 2014
  3. Action required: Remit unclaimed deposit amounts (including accrued interest) to the DEAF Account via E-Kuber portal by the last working day of each month.
  4. Action required: Correctly classify deposits in E-Kuber fields: interest-bearing, non-interest-bearing, and others (non-interest bearing).
  5. Action required: Calculate and credit accrued interest on interest-bearing deposits up to the date of transfer to the Fund.
  6. Action required: Ensure the initial transfer of cumulative balances (as of May 22, 2014) is completed by June 30, 2014.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8958&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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