India has transformed the way its citizens access and use the banking system — from Jan Dhan accounts and UPI to the RBI’s UDGAM platform for tracing unclaimed deposits. But the next banking reform must address a quieter problem: ensuring that savings remain connected to their rightful owners and reach their nominees or legal heirs

India’s banking story over the past decade has been one of remarkable transformation. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has helped millions enter the formal financial system. Payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) were a game-changer in the digital payment landscape. The Reserve Bank of India’s UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits-Gateway to Access Information) has also been a recent addition that allows customers and legal heirs to track down the deposits that they have forgotten in various banks.

The reforms have enhanced financial inclusion. But they also reveal a more muted problem that must not be overlooked when it comes to policy decisions - and it is one that needs to be addressed on a par: the lack of disconnect between savings and their proper owners.

The banks in the public sector transferred Rs 60,518 crore in unclaimed deposits to the RBI’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund as of January 2026. The regulators have made the recovery procedure possible during the ‘Your Money Your Right’ campaign, with Rs 5,777 crore recovered through 22.95 lakh claims across the country, showing that it can work if institutions coordinate well. This is a great achievement and deserves credit. They also pose a more basic question, however. So many deposits are going unclaimed; why is that? The solution goes beyond banking.

An unclaimed deposit isn’t a deposit that’s simply put into the memory hole. It can usually be traced back to the interplay of demographic, family fragmentation, migration, lack of nominee information,........

© The Pioneer