Srinagar, Dec 19: Taking forward nationwide initiative “Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar - Your Money, Your Right”, J&K UTLBC today successfully conducted Mega Facilitation Camps across the districts of Udhampur and Samba to help people identify, verify and reclaim their unclaimed bank deposits, dormant insurance amounts, inactive mutual funds, unclaimed shares, dividends and other long-pending financial assets.
The camps are part of the three-month campaign launched by the Department of Financial Services under the Union Finance Ministry, in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The outreach camps witnessed encouraging public participation including public representatives while bringing together officials from district administration and all other stakeholders.
Udhampur Camp
The Lead District Office, Udhampur today organised a district-level Mega Facilitation Camp in the district. Deputy Commissioner (Udhampur) Saloni Rai was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The camp was attended by LDO RBI Subin Kundal, DGM J&K Bank, Lead District Manager Udhampur, besides Branch Managers and officials from various banks operating in the district.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Saloni Rai lauded the efforts of the financial institutions in effectively driving the campaign and ensuring that unclaimed funds are returned to their rightful owners, terming the initiative as an important step towards enhanced financial inclusion and customer empowerment.
Addressing the gathering, the speakers highlighted the campaign’s focus on the 3A Strategy – Awareness, Accessibility and Action, aimed at enabling citizens to reclaim their rightful savings lying unclaimed with banks. The banks were encouraged to proactively identify, contact and trace rightful claimants and ensure settlement of such accounts in a time-bound manner.
During the camp, participants were sensitised about the claim process, requisite documentation and the Reserve Bank of India’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits–Gateway to Access Information) portal, which provides a single-window platform for searching unclaimed deposits across banks.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
As a significant outcome of the camp, 57 unclaimed account claims involving an amount of Rs 61 lakh were successfully settled on the spot. Of these, State Bank of India (SBI) settled 16 accounts amounting to Rs 32.50 lakh, while J&K Bank settled 24 accounts involving an amount of Rs 24 lakh. Pertinently, District Udhampur has 54675 unclaimed accounts worth Rs 16.93 crore.
Dedicated facilitation stalls were set up by participating banks to assist customers with re-KYC, account opening and enrolment under various social security schemes.
Samba Camp
The Lead Bank Office, Samba today organised a district-level Mega Facilitation Camp at the Municipal Council Hall, Vijaypur. Chairman, District Development Council (DDC) Samba, Keshav Dutt Sharma was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
The event was attended by DGM (RBI) Vibha Gupta, AGM, (RBI) Mitesh Kumar, LDO (RBI) Amandeep Singh, Regional Manager (RBO-III Jammu) Ankur Sharma, LDM (Samba) Subhash Chander, Director, SBI RSETI Samba, DDM NABARD Samba, J&K Bank Cluster Head and representatives from PNB and other banks operating in the district.
Addressing the gathering, the dignitaries appreciated the efforts of the banking institutions in organising the camp and urged them to further intensify their outreach initiatives. They also encouraged the public to keep their bank records updated, complete KYC formalities in time and ensure regular operation of their accounts to avoid deposits turning unclaimed.
Speakers also informed the participants that an amount of Rs 13.16 crore is presently lying as unclaimed deposits in 54666 accounts with banks in Samba district. There gathering was also made aware of various social security schemes including Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
A key highlight of the camp was the distribution of cheques by the DGM RBI Vibha Gupta and Regional Manager, RBO-III Jammu Ankur Sharma amounting to Rs 43.15 lakh among 32 beneficiaries who had successfully claimed their unclaimed deposits.
During the camp, participants were sensitised about the Reserve Bank of India’s UDGAM portal, which enables people to search for their unclaimed deposits across banks through a single platform.