Context: UDGAM portal
RBI informed the Supreme Court that 30 banks have been integrated with the UDGAM portal, covering nearly 90% of unclaimed deposits in DEAF, to help depositors and legal heirs trace dormant accounts and unclaimed funds.
UDGAM — Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access Information
Launched by: Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Year: 2023
Objective
- Centralised platform to search unclaimed deposits across banks
- Helps legal heirs identify funds of deceased account holders
- Reduces delays and fragmentation in recovery process
Key Features
- Single-window search facility
- Covers multiple public/private sector banks
- Only facilitates tracing; final settlement done by respective bank
Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) — created by RBI in 2014
What happens?
- Deposits unclaimed for 10 years or more are transferred by banks to DEAF
- Depositors/legal heirs can still reclaim money through prescribed procedure
Issues Highlighted Before Supreme Court
- Post office deposits, provident funds and insurance-related unclaimed assets are not fully integrated
- Legal heirs still face documentation and procedural hurdles in claiming assets



