New Delhi1 minute ago
- Copy link
The Supreme Court on Monday sought a reply from the Central Government and several financial regulators on the petition that demanded that a centralized digital platform be made. On this platform, people can see all their financial assets – whether they are active, inactive or uncured, all of them together.
All these assets can be in institutions under regulators such as Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Supreme Court has asked the Center and Financial Regulators to respond in four weeks. The next hearing of the case will be after the reply is filed.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Central Government, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, RBI, SEBII, IRDAI, National Savings Institute, Emplio Provident Fund (EPFO) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
This petition has been filed by social activist Akash Goyal. He has demanded that a system be created that people can easily find and claim their scattered or inactive financial assets. Senior advocate Mukta Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that the Delhi High Court had considered the problem serious earlier this year, but since then the government or regulators did not take any action in this direction.
Mukta Gupta said, ‘The Delhi High Court had admitted that the problem affects millions of people, but was left to the government to make a policy on it. Despite this, millions of common citizens are stuck in banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and pension schemes.
What is the problem?
In January this year, the Delhi High Court said that the problem of inactive and uncured assets is a matter of serious concern for millions of investors and depositors. But the court refused to intervene directly in the case and left it for the government and policy makers.
Some shocking figures have been revealed in the petition. There are more than 9.22 crore inactive bank accounts across the country, with money at Rs 3,918 per account. Apart from this, banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, provident funds and small saving schemes have an uncured amount of more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore.
It was told in the petition that many of these funds belong to those who are no longer in this world. Their legal heirs are not aware of these assets, as either nominee details are not present or there is no easy way to find them. The result is that this trapped money is neither coming to the work of the owners nor is contributing to the economy.
What are the current arrangements?
The petition mentions three major statutory funds, which handle uncured money …
- Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF): Under RBI, Deaf handles uncured deposits in banks.
- Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF): Under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, IEPF collects uncured dividends and shares.
- Senior Citizens Welfare Fund (SCWF): Under the Finance Act 2015, SCWF handles the money of uncured insurance and small saving schemes.
The total amount of more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore has been lying in Deaf and IEPF. The petition states that this amount is almost three times the health budget of India and it is doubled from the education budget. Still this money is lying idle.
What is demand?
The petition stated that the lack of a unified registry is violating the constitutional rights of citizens (Article 14 and 21). Because this is affecting transparency and the right to reach its property on time.
The petition demanded that a safe, base-linked, e-KYC-based portal be built, where people can see all the financial assets of themselves and their nominee. It should be made mandatory to enter nominee details for all financial institutions for every asset. A system to solve the complaint on time should be made for the claimants.
What will happen next?
This notice of the Supreme Court is expected that soon the government and the regulators will take some concrete steps in this direction. If this happens, millions of people will be able to reach their lost or forgotten money and this money will also be returned to the economy.
Source link
[ad_3]
