India’s “Your Money, Your Right” Campaign: Reclaiming Forgotten Wealth

India has launched a nationwide movement to help citizens recover long-forgotten financial assets lying unclaimed in banks, insurance companies, mutual fund houses and other financial institutions. Titled “Your Money, Your Right”, the initiative marks a major step towards empowering citizens by restoring their rightful dues and transforming idle funds into usable financial opportunities. The campaign aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wider mission of strengthening financial inclusion and ensuring that every citizen has full access to their own money.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ANI | Firstpost

The Scale of India’s Forgotten Financial Assets

Across India, an enormous volume of financial wealth has gone unclaimed for years. Government data shows that banks alone hold nearly ₹78,000 crore in unclaimed deposits, while insurance companies have around ₹14,000 crore in unpaid claims and policies that policyholders or their heirs never retrieved. Mutual fund houses are holding approximately ₹3,000 crore, and unclaimed dividends add another ₹9,000 crore to the total. When combined, the volume of forgotten assets exceeds ₹1 lakh crore, making it one of the largest pools of dormant financial wealth globally.

These funds often accumulate due to common issues such as relocation, changes in phone numbers, lost documents, or the lack of digital literacy in older generations. In many instances, depositors or policyholders passed away without informing their families, leaving significant sums inaccessible to their legal heirs. Recognizing this challenge, the government has stepped in to bridge the gap between citizens and their dormant wealth.

The Purpose and Design of the Campaign

The “Your Money, Your Right” campaign is designed as a collaborative effort between the Department of Financial Services, 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). The idea is to offer a single nationwide framework that helps people identify and reclaim lost deposits, forgotten insurance payouts, old mutual fund units, dividends, and other long-idle assets.

The campaign combines digital tools with grassroots outreach. For tech-savvy individuals, search platforms such as the RBI’s UDGAM Portal allow citizens to look up unclaimed deposits using basic details. For those less familiar with digital systems, district-level facilitation camps are being set up across hundreds of districts, offering personal assistance, multilingual guidance, and on-the-spot support for filing claims. Through this model, the government aims to ensure that no citizen — regardless of age, location or digital access — is excluded from accessing their own money.

How Citizens Can Reclaim Their Forgotten Assets

The campaign significantly simplifies the retrieval process. Citizens can begin by searching for unclaimed assets on authorized portals maintained by regulators and financial institutions. If the system shows their name or that of a family member, they can approach the concerned bank or institution with identity proofs, supporting documents, and in the case of heirs, relevant certificates such as a death certificate or legal heirship document.

To support this process, the government and regulators have released detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), informational booklets, and awareness videos in Indian languages. District-level camps further guide citizens in understanding documents, navigating portals, and submitting claim forms correctly. For many families, especially those with senior citizens, this on-ground assistance is proving to be crucial.

Impact and Early Success of the Initiative

Within just two months of launching, the campaign has already returned around ₹2,000 crore to rightful owners, highlighting both the scale of the problem and the effectiveness of the solution. Officials report that the response has been enthusiastic, with large numbers of people visiting local camps to check forgotten accounts and pending claims. The participation of major financial regulators has ensured that multiple asset categories — from bank deposits to insurance proceeds — are brought under a unified recovery mechanism.

The widespread network of camps has reached even remote districts, reflecting the government’s commitment to inclusivity. Early feedback suggests that the drive is not only helping recover funds but is also increasing financial literacy, encouraging citizens to stay updated about their existing accounts, and motivating families to maintain clear documentation for future generations.

The MGMM Outlook

The launch of India’s “Your Money, Your Right” campaign marks a renewed national push to reconnect people with wealth that has slipped out of their reach over the years. With more than ₹1 lakh crore lying unclaimed across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and dividend accounts, the initiative highlights how scattered documentation, low awareness and outdated records have kept families separated from what is rightfully theirs. The drive brings together India’s top financial regulators, creating a unified recovery system that blends digital tools like the RBI’s UDGAM portal with district-level facilitation camps, ensuring that assistance reaches even those with limited digital access. This approach not only restores lost assets but also rebuilds confidence in the financial system by making institutions more accessible to the ordinary citizen.

As recovery efforts gather momentum, thousands of families are already beginning to receive long-forgotten deposits and policy dues, showing how impactful a coordinated national movement can be. The early success of the campaign demonstrates the country’s growing emphasis on financial clarity, documentation and digital accountability. Beyond retrieving idle funds, the initiative is nudging people to stay informed about their financial footprint, maintain updated records and educate the next generation about responsible money management. In doing so, it transforms forgotten wealth into renewed economic opportunity, strengthening households and the nation’s financial awareness at the same time.

(Sources: Firstpost, Financial Express, Economic Times)