Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called upon citizens to actively spread awareness about the newly launched campaign, ‘Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar’ (Your Money, Your Right), to help people recover an estimated ₹1.84 lakh crore in unclaimed financial assets across the country.
The Campaign: Your Money, Your Right
The three-month-long nationwide awareness campaign, launched by the Minister on October 4, 2025, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is a concerted effort by the Ministry of Finance, the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and other regulators.
The primary goal is to reconnect citizens with their unclaimed funds—which are currently held by banks and regulators in the form of deposits, insurance payouts, dividends, shares, and mutual fund proceeds. These funds often remain unclaimed due to a lack of awareness or outdated account details.
The Three ‘A’s for Success
Sitharaman emphasized that the success of the campaign hinges on fulfilling the three critical ‘A’s: Awareness, Access, and Action.
- Awareness: The Minister urged the public to become “ambassadors” of the campaign, asking people they know if they hold any papers related to unclaimed assets and guiding them to the official portals.
- Access: The government is providing clear information and simplifying the procedure, including the use of digital tools like the RBI’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits Gateway To Access Information) portal. Banks and financial institutions will also set up dedicated help desks and stalls for on-the-spot guidance.
- Action: This requires officials and claimants to act promptly to process the claims with proper documentation.
The Finance Minister assured the public that the money is absolutely safe, with the government acting as the custodian, and will be rightfully returned to the owners or their legal heirs once proper documentation is submitted. The campaign is a commitment to ensuring that every rupee saved by citizens is claimed, thereby strengthening financial inclusion in every household.
