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The government has no proposal to utilise unclaimed funds lying with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and inoperative Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) accounts for any purpose other than the existing mechanism.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Master Circular dated June 19, 2024, unclaimed insurance amounts lying unclaimed for more than 10 years are transferred to the Senior Citizen Welfare Fund (SCWF), while there is no proposal to utilise such funds for any other purpose. The minister said LIC had Rs 7,318.50 crore in unclaimed amounts as of March 31, 2026. This includes Rs 5,564.55 crore belonging to policyholders and Rs 1,753.95 crore as income accrued on those unclaimed amounts. The government also clarified that there are no unclaimed EPFO accounts, although inoperative EPF accounts held Rs 9,330.56 crore as of March 31, 2026. The reply said LIC and EPFO are continuing efforts to identify beneficiaries and facilitate settlement of pending claims. According to the government, LIC allows policyholders to search for unclaimed amounts through its official website and is contacting customers through letters, SMS, local agents, Bima Sakhis and credit bureau agencies to trace policyholders and nominees. LIC also participated in the Ministry of Finance's "Your Money-Your Right" campaign and has been running awareness advertisements across the country in multiple languages. For EPFO, the government said inoperative accounts have been categorised based on KYC status, while a pilot project has been approved for the automatic settlement of Aadhaar-verified inoperative accounts with balances of Rs 1,000 or less. Under the initiative, the amount is credited directly to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts without requiring fresh claims or documentation, and the model is proposed to be expanded to higher balance slabs after due diligence. The government said outreach and awareness initiatives are also being undertaken through social media and Nidhi Aapke Nikat (NAN) 2.0 camps to help members identify and claim amounts lying in inoperative EPF accounts. (ANI)
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