• Unclaimed financial assets in India are substantial and growing, totaling ₹1,47,540 crore across bank deposits, shares, dividends, mutual funds, insurance, and provident funds.
• This is partly due to difficulties in claiming assets of the deceased and investors forgetting old accounts.
• Regulators like RBI and SEBI are trying to simplify the process for investors to reclaim these assets.
• Unclaimed assets persist despite regulatory efforts due to forgotten accounts and heirs not claiming assets.
• While digitization helps with dormant accounts, transferring assets of the deceased is difficult due to complex paperwork and inconsistent KYC documents.
• The financial industry should simplify the transmission process with empathy, categorize accounts by risk for tailored KYC procedures, and create a common portal for claiming assets of the deceased.
