Summary of this article
Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar helps depositors claim unclaimed funds.
RBI emphasises transparency and accountability in banking services.
Ombudsman and grievance redress linked to campaign efforts.
Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar, launched on 4 October 2025, a three-month nationwide awareness drive running from October to December 2025, is an initiative by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to help people trace and claim unclaimed financial assets. These include bank deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, shares, and mutual fund payouts that have remained untouched for years.
At launch, unclaimed bank deposits of more than Rs 75,000 crore had already been transferred to the RBI's Depositor's Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF). Additional unclaimed assets related to insurance, mutual funds, and dividends took the total stock of dormant financial assets to around Rs 1.84 lakh crore, as of 2025. The campaign uses district level camps, help desks at banks and digital tools to facilitate the process for account holders and heirs to find and get back what rightfully belongs to them.
During the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in December 2025, the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra reiterated the importance of the campaign while listing ongoing customer service and inclusion measures. He mentioned that, along with re-KYC efforts and initiatives to digitise services, Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar has remained a priority in improving transparency and helping people reclaim unclaimed assets.
Scale Of The Unclaimed Assets Problem
Data referenced at launch estimated that the corpus unclaimed across the financial system was substantial. Close to Rs 1.84 lakh crore is lying unclaimed across bank deposits, insurance proceeds, unpaid dividends, mutual fund balances and share-related entitlements.
Over Rs 67,000 crore of this is unclaimed bank deposits. The rest is spread across other financial instruments. According to the government data presented in the Parliament, as of December 2025, around 26 per cent or 15.07 crore accounts in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which aims for financial inclusion, have been inoperative, due to reasons such as migration, outdated documentation or death of the account holder. Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar’s district camps are designed to help beneficiaries identify and process their claims.
Banking Ombudsman’s Recent Updates
In the same December announcement, RBI pointed out an increase in complaints received under its grievance redressal mechanism. Complaints received under the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme in FY25 have risen to about 13.34 lakh in the financial year, a growth of over 13.55 per cent over the previous year. Loans and credit cards accounted for the largest share of complaints, followed by issues related to deposits and digital banking.
In order to achieve the same, a country-wide two-month campaign beginning January 2026 aims to clear the complaints pending for more than one month. And by placing this initiative and Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar in the same section of his remarks, Malhotra indicated that both efforts are part of strengthening depositor protection and improving trust in the system.
What This Means for Depositors
Households with dormant or forgotten accounts across deposits, insurance, or investments now have a clear window to check and reclaim unclaimed assets. Banks have been asked to set up help desks and assist in verification and documentation. Digital tools and district outreach camps are part of the support system.
The parallel focus on clearing ombudsman backlogs signals an attempt at making the system more responsive. Depositors can claim past dues and also expect a timelier resolution of complaints. The size of the unclaimed corpus shows why this matters for many families, especially if the heirs may not be aware of old accounts or entitlements.
These unclaimed deposits have accumulated over the years; most were unclaimed simply because the owners were unaware of these options or found claim procedures too cumbersome. Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar tries to meet this goal through concerted public outreach and institutional support.
