Rs 3,400 crore unclaimed in Karnataka bank accounts: RBI official
Mangaluru: Around Rs 3,400 crore has remained unclaimed in bank accounts across Karnataka for more than a decade, officials said during the District Consultative Committee (DCC) and District Level Review Committee (DLRC) meeting held here on Wednesday.
Arun Kumar, Assistant General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bengaluru Regional Office, said the central bank has launched a state wide campaign under the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) to help people recover unclaimed deposits. The special drive, which began three months ago, will continue till December 31, though depositors can approach banks even after the deadline, The New Indian Express reported.
ALSO READ: Kerala marks Christmas with prayers, voices concern over attacks elsewhere
He reportedly said nearly 80 per cent of unclaimed accounts have balances of less than Rs 10,000. Many of them are decades old, lack updated mobile numbers or KYC details, and in several cases, the original account holders are no longer alive. Updating mobile numbers and customer details has been taken up as the first step in the campaign.
The unclaimed money includes deposits in savings, fixed deposit and current accounts. Customers can also check for unclaimed deposits through the UDGAM online portal.
Dakshina Kannada Lead Bank District Chief Manager Kavitha Shetty said around Rs 140 crore remains unclaimed in nearly six lakh bank accounts in the district alone. So far, Rs 20 crore has been returned to depositors of 830 accounts under the DEAF scheme.
Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta called for stronger awareness efforts and urged banks to proactively inform customers through pamphlets and direct outreach. He also raised concerns over delays in implementing welfare schemes and stressed the need for better execution of programmes such as PMJDY, PMJJBY, PMSBY and APY.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
86 nations, two int'l organisations sign AI Impact Summit declaration: IT Min Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the AI Impact Summit declaration, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said, adding that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.
The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Vaishnaw told reporters that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of 'welfare of all, and happiness of all'.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising Artificial Intelligence resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.
Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.
"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw said, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.
Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.
"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.
The mega AI Impact Summit secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, with Vaishnaw on Friday terming it a "grand success".
Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed five lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.
The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.
"More than five lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he had said.
Be it the ministerial dialogue, the leaders' plenary, the main inauguration function, or the Summit overall, the quality of participation and dialogue was phenomenal, Vaishnaw had pointed out.
The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.
Vaishnaw had said that the Summit reflected the world's confidence in India's role in the new AI age.
Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week - Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.
