Sebi And MCA To Hold Investor Awareness Camps Across India, Says Report

The issue of unclaimed dividends and shares is a significant concern for shareholders and companies alike. Investors often leave dividends or shares unclaimed if they lose their documents, do not update their addresses, or fail to follow announcements related to dividend payments.

To resolve this problem the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the Securities Exchange Board of India plan to hold investor camps or ‘Niveshak Shivirs’ across India according to a report by the Economic Times. The report cited officials privy to the matter who also stated that the camps are a part of the Centre’s initiative to make the transfer of old unclaimed dividends and shares to investors more efficient.

The investor camps aim to facilitate the Know Your Customer (KYC) processes for investors who attend the camps, rectify discrepancies in existing claims, and address issues with non-responsive companies. Companies with high-value shares will also be urged to send representatives to the camps. Dematerialisation services will also be offered to investors who still hold share certificates of their holdings.

The report added that the investor camps will offer investors a ‘one-stop shop’ for processing their claims. The ministry plans to bring together government officials, regulatory officials, registrar and transfer agents, and representatives of relevant companies to process the claims efficiently. Senior ministry officials and officials from the Sebi also held a meeting earlier in April to plan the setting up of investor camps.

Apart from organising investor camps, the ministry also plans to lower the age limit for investors whose claims will be processed on a priority basis. The ministry plans to lower the age limit for such investors from the existing 75 years to 70 years. The report also cited officials who said that this move is expected to benefit thousands of senior citizens. Additionally, the ministry plans to relax the age limit to allow priority clearances for all senior citizens over 60 years in due course.

The report added that the initiative follows a directive by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who urged the authorities to take swift remedial action to resolve matters related to the transfer of shares.

Earlier in 2024, Sitharaman announced in her budget speech that an IT portal would be set up to reclaim unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends.

“For investors to reclaim unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority with ease, an integrated IT portal will be established,” the Finance Minister said in her budget speech.

As per the Companies Act, 2013, those dividends which have not been claimed for seven consecutive years or more are transferred by the company to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF).