Department of Commerce & Management, Kalinga University Chhattisgarh, New Raipur, India
*Corresponding Author’s Email: wd8ahmad@gmail.com
Many people in India and even in the world don’t usually like sharing their bank account information with their family due to some reason, and during few years may happen something to the account holder like he/ she may die, in prison or travel to other country, and the amount remaining in the bank for many years or may never someone claim; that is why RBI formatted the scheme of DEAF (Depositor Education Awareness Fund) in 2014, under the Regulation Act 1949, and Section 26A, and it is for the awareness of customers. If during 10 or more years depositor or the relative of depositor do not claim an account, the bank has to transfer and credit the amount to the Depositor Education Awareness Fund (DEAF account) and the RBI will not pay any interest for unclaimed amount to the customers. If someone claim for 10 years or more than that the depositor of the relative of the account holder shall provide the required documents to the bank for transferring back the money without any interest. And each bank should be sending the money on the last working day of month and for every bank has been chosen a unique bank DEAF code by RBI. Each bank should transfer the amount by specific bank DEAF code to the DEAF account.
Keywords: RBI, Section 26A, Banking Act, 1949 Guidelines Operational
DEAF or Depositor Education Awareness Fund is the process of a bank scheme which was introduce by RBI in 2014 in Section 26A under the Rule and Regulation of Banking Act, 1949 guidelines operational, and for the first time it was announced in May, 2013 in momentary annual polices by Reserve Bank of India. According to the scheme, RBI introduced a new policy for the unclaimed account depositors where the bank has to transfer the amount which have been inoperative in least ten years or more than ten years to the DEAF account in a quarter after expire of specified period of ten years. Any account which is lying unclaimed with bank for ten years or more than ten years is required to be deposited to the DEAF account under the DEAF scheme 2014. Even after the amount transferred to the DEAF account, he/she can claim for their deposit and they shall get interest rate if applicable and the interest rate decided by RBI. The DEAF has a committee with six members and one chairman and it is also decided by RBI (Kancharla, 2020).
There are some advantages for account holders as well. Depositor Education Awareness Fund provides option for account holders to reclaim the deposit account, even after it is transferred to the DEAF scheme. He/ she can check the details of his/her imperative unclaimed amount which transferred before to the Depositor Education Awareness Fund on bank web. But there are some problems as well, among which one major issue is its yearly increment. According to the data published by the Times of India, on 1st July 2019, in 2018 unclaimed deposit amount in bank increased 27% to Rs. 14,578 cores. (Times of India, 2019) This means the unclaimed account increases day- by- day. It is the responsibility of government to make the people aware of the fact because most people do not even know about DEAF scheme 2014.
Each account, when want to credit the amount due to the bank fund, should be specified by the specific DEAF code and the amount should be transferred to that specific DEAF code’s account (Kumar, 2015). If one is not a current account member with RBI, the bank should not join all the bank and they should be sending money separately. There are two kinds of account as the following:
Own Account
Members Account
Own Account: It is the process of availabilities of all facilities under DEAF services of e-kuber partial, and when any bank wants to credit in its own account for fund, it has to provide DEAF code and the account division into interest manner, non-manner and credit deposit. This field provides the same abovementioned services in the portal, and the other credit would be non-interest bearing.
Member’s Account: Suppose in the case of a bank transferring the amount due to the member and the bank don’t have the current account with the Reserve Bank of India, who approach the bank for sending such amounts to the fund, that is why suggested the bank shouldn’t intersection the amount of all the banks, and they should remit separately each amount to the bank. The amount which is credited to the fund is the point the bank DEAF code field available in the DEAF services e-kuber. The bank has to provide the bank DEAF code to the member and to the others banks as well the. One fund is being transferred and the interest bearing and non-interest bearing deposited, and some other deposit credits should be provided in the field of nominated for the same. Other deposit credits should be non-bearing and the Reserve Bank of India will credit the account to the sponsor bank from where flow up the credit up to the member or to the other banks of credit (IIFL, 2014).
DEAF accounts, as the name suggests, deals with the accounts for that purpose the banks that provide accounts to every individual and joint account. For transaction there are two parties, sender, and receivable, means creditors and debtors. For determination of scheme accounts realize the following:
Saving account
Fixed account
Credit account
Debt account
Current account
Accumulative account
Prepaid account
Payment bank account
ATM account
Loan account
Outstanding telegraph transfer
DDs, banker’s cheques, pay order, sundry deposit account
Other for deposit account
Margin money against issue of letter of Guarantee
Unadjusted NEFT credit balance
According to the policy of Reserve Bank of India, the fund should be utilized for the proposition of depositor’s interest and for the similar purpose of the interest of depositor’s as specified by the RBI (Sanghvi, 2019).
Committee of the DEAF has the role of deciding that how the amount of money can be utilized, and in each meeting the chairman and the one-third of total members of the committee arranges a meeting, and all the funds will be utilized for the promotion of the depositor’s interest as specified by the Reserve bank of India. The committee will also provide information to RBI quarterly, and there are some steps for the committee and its functions as following:
DEAF will be managed by the head committee of the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India
There will be six members in the committee
The committee will advise RBI about the interest rate which should be paid to the depositing bank for the funds from the banks
At least once in a quarter period the committee will have a meeting for discussion
Quorum for each meeting should be at least chairman and one-third of its total members
Funds should be utilized for the promotion of depositors
Committee will have functions for the purpose that may be specified by RBI from time to time
Committee should list all the activities
All the activities of DEAF include the meeting, advising, for its own rules, for business, promotions of depositors, list of activities, criteria and producer, incurring expenditure and achieving the objectives of DEAF in different interval of the time. Working on DEAF and form all powers on behalf the DEAF, including expenditure that are spent for DEAF, determination interest rate payable by the DEAF to the depositor, provides of information to the RBI their income and expenditures provided by committee are the responsibilities of the DEAF committee (The Economic Times, 2014).
The committee, which is a group of six members and with a chairperson, is responsible for the safe running under the work of DEAF account scheme. The Depositors Education Awareness Fund were established in 2014 under Section 26A, and if there are any issues in DEAF account, RBI will solve it and maintain the smooth working progress. If there are any changes in the rules and regulations of DEAF scheme, it will also be the responsibility of RBI and only the RBI will be able to revise or change of scheme. These are the important facts of DEAF 2014 scheme.
The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.
The author is thankful to the institutional authority for completion of the work.
IIFL. (2014). RBI clarifies rules on DEAF scheme. IIFL Securities, 26th June. Retrieved from: https://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/rbi-clarifies- rules-on-deaf-scheme-114062600086_1.html
Kancharla, B. (2020). Explainer: What is the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme? Factly, 18th May. Retrieved from: https://factly.in/explainer-what-is-the-depositor-education-and-awareness-fundscheme/#:~:text=A%20specific%20account%20is%20maintained,and%20Awareness
%20Fund%20(DEAF).&text=The%20credit%20balance%20of%20any,for%20ten%2 0years%20or%20more
Kumar, S. (2015). De-jargoned: Depositor Education and Awareness Fund. Livemint, 19th March. Retrieved from: https://www.livemint.com/Money/z8UxhOBk7GxbquCVDT4JTJ/Dejargoned- Depositor-Education-and-Awareness-Fund.html
Sanghvi, D. (2019). Give your financial portfolio a reality check. Livemint, 2nd September. Retrieved from: https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/give- your-financial-portfolio-a-realty-check-1567446377303.html
The Economic Times. (2014). Interest on claims in DEAF only from date of account transfer: RBI. Reserve Bank of India, 25th June. Retrieved from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/interest-on- claims-in-deaf-only-from-date-of-account-transfer- rbi/articleshow/37202007.cms?from=mdr#:~:text=%22The%20interest%20payable% 2C%20if%20any,said%20in%20a%20clarification%20today
The Times of India. (2019). Unclaimed deposits in banks rise by 27% to Rs 14,578 crore in 2018. The Times of India, India Times, 1st July. Retrieved from: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/unclaimed-deposits-in- banks-rise-by-27-to-rs-14578-crore-in-2018/articleshow/70027238.cms