SEBI Taps into DigiLocker To Tackle Unclaimed Assets in Securities Market
Moneylife Digital Team 20 March 2025
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a major initiative aimed at reducing unclaimed assets in the Indian securities market by leveraging DigiLocker, the government of India's digital document wallet. The circular will come into effect on 1 April 2025, and SEBI has advised all involved entities to implement the necessary adjustments promptly.
 
The new circular, dated 19 March 2025, mandates using DigiLocker as a digital public infrastructure to store and manage financial holdings, including mutual fund (MF) and demat account statements. Asset management companies (AMCs), registrars, share transfer agents and recognised depositories are required to register with DigiLocker as 'issuers' to facilitate seamless access to users' financial data.
 
DigiLocker, an initiative under the Digital India programme, allows citizens to digitally store essential documents such as Aadhaar, PAN and death certificates. These documents are legally equivalent to originals under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. 
 
By integrating DigiLocker, SEBI says it wants to ensure that financial documents are readily accessible to investors and their nominees, preventing unclaimed assets due to unawareness or lack of proper transmission.
 
"In the event of an investor's demise, the DigiLocker system will notify the registered nominee through SMS and email, granting them access to the deceased's financial data after authentication. This mechanism will significantly reduce unidentified unclaimed assets and streamline the transmission process," the market regulator says.
 
To enhance the effectiveness of the DigiLocker system, SEBI has directed recognised depositories and AMCs to link mutual fund and demat account statements to DigiLocker. This integration ensures that a consolidated view of all financial holdings can be fetched through a single platform, simplifying asset management for users.
 
Furthermore, DigiLocker nominees will be empowered to access the deceased investor's digital documents and initiate the transmission of assets where applicable. The system also supports automatic updates of demise status from official death registers or from know-your-customer (KYC) registration agencies (KRAs), further securing asset management.
 
"Holding statements and other important financial documents within DigiLocker can help prevent assets from becoming unclaimed and ensure a smooth transition to legal heirs," SEBI says.
Comments
r_ashok41
1 month ago
ideally the amount either in whichever bank their people should visit the premises of the people and check who are the people present there and establish facts which should be the starting point.
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