Huge amounts of funds are lying unclaimed and/or without knowledge of customers/depositors in suspense and inoperative accounts of banks of India. These banks also include a large number of private, multinational and co-operative banks. It is grossly against national and public interest to leave such enormous amount of public-money especially in private, multinational and co-operative banks.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should issue a directive that all banks may inform their customers/ depositors by registered post about their funds lying for more than say three years in such suspense and inoperative accounts for being claimed in a time-bound period. After expiry of such time-bound period, all such unclaimed funds should be transferred to a special fund at RBI from where it may be claimed afterwards by claimants either directly from RBI or through concerned banks. Similar system should be for deposits and accounts in post-offices. It should not be difficult because already such a system exists for unclaimed dividends in companies.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Delhi