Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta hands over a professional kit to a trainee who has undergone skill development training in plumbing at the District Consultative Committee and District Level Review Committee meeting of bankers, in Mangaluru on December 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY
Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Baptain Brijesh Chowta asked banks to step up the Depositor Awareness Campaign that seeks to help people reclaim forgotten financial assets so that the unclaimed monies in financial institutions are returned to the rightful owners.
Speaking at the district consultative committee (DCC) and district level review committee (DLRC) meeting for banking development in Dakshina Kannada on December 24, Capt. Chowta said the Union Government introduced the scheme to return unclaimed monies of about ₹78,000 crore across the country to rightful claimants. Banks need to create more awareness and inform modalities of reclaiming the amount, he said.
The MP was told that about ₹20 crore out of ₹140 crore unclaimed amount was returned to claimants in Dakshina Kannada district after the campaign was launched.
Reserve Bank of India’s Assistant General Manager in Bengaluru P. Arun Kumar gave the State-wide unclaimed amount adds up to about ₹3,400 crore. Out of these dormant accounts, 80% were retail accounts, and majority of them were not linked to mobile phone numbers, the officer said.
Over 80% of the accounts had deposits less than ₹1,000 and were more than 10 years old. The RBI has introduced an incentive scheme to financial institutions that succeed in returning unclaimed amounts.
Reserve Bank of India Assistant General Manager P. Arun Kumar explains about depositor awareness campaign to Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta at the District Consultative Committee and District Level Review Committee meeting of bankers, in Mangaluru on December 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
ANIL KUMAR SASTRY
UDGAM portal
Mr. Kumar said an individual could find out forgotten deposits or investments through the Unclaimed Deposits-Gateway to Access inforMation (UDGAM) portal developed by the central bank. An individual could get the information by providing the required details.
Exceed targets
Banks in Dakshina Kannada district have exceeded targets fixed for credit disbursal in priority sectors of MEME and education by disbursing ₹5,351.29 crore and ₹110.04 crore, respectively, as against ₹3,931.93 crore and ₹109.48 crore, respectively, between April-September 2025, the participants were informed.
In the housing sector, however, they could disburse only ₹173.9 crore as against ₹335.56 crore target while in the agriculture sector, banks disbursed ₹6,664.51 crore as against the target of ₹6,668.57 crore.
While the total disbursement (priority as well as non-priority sector) was ₹26,096.15 crore as against the target of ₹32,253.49 crore, showing 80.9% achievement. In the priority sector however, banks achieved 112.22% progress by disbursing ₹13,001.29 crore as against the target of ₹11,585.41 crore.
Professional kits
On the occasion, the MP symbolically distributed professional kits to trainees who have undergone skill development training through the skill development entrepreneurship and livelihood department.
District Lead Bank, Canara Bank Deputy General Manager Shailendra Nath Sheeth and others were present.
Published – December 24, 2025 03:39 pm IST
