Parliament Question: Investor Education and Protection Fund

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 217 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, JULY 20, 2026/ASHADHA 29, 1948 (SAKA) INVESTOR EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FUND

217. Dr. LATA WANKHEDE:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the amount of unclaimed dividends, shares and other investor assets transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund during the last five years, year-wise;

(b) the number of claims received for refund of such assets during the last five years, year-wise;

(c) the number of claims disposed of and the numbers pending disposal, year-wise;

(d) the average time taken for processing and settlement of claims under the IEPF mechanism;

(e) whether any review has been undertaken regarding delays in settlement of claims and the findings thereof, if so, the details thereof; and

(f) the specific actions taken by the Government to facilitate recovery of unclaimed assets by investors and the details of progress achieved thereunder? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (HARSH MALHOTRA)

(a) to (c): The information in this regard are as under:- S. Years Amount No. of Number of Number of Number of No. transferred Shares applications applicatio applications to IEPF transferred received ns pending at (₹ In Crore) to IEPF during the approved the end of (Nos. In period of during the year crore) the period *

(i) 2021-22 446.22 14.19 28,647 10,472 16,418

(ii) 2022-23 452.26 16.17 51,652 10,989 22,719

(iii) 2023-24 2,522.69 21.51 55,031 16,985 27,024

(iv) 2024-25 1,134.58 26.10 59,940 12,749 51,491

(v) 2025-26# 1,181.30 32.51 72,605 62,668 26,510 #The data for the year is provisional *Claims rejected by companies or due to verification reports not being filed on time are excluded.

(d): The time taken to process claims depends upon the completeness of details and documents given by the claimant and the verification report given by thecompanies. The time taken would vary significantly on the category and completeness of the claim. Therefore average time taken is not maintained.

(e): The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) periodically reviews the processing and settlement of claims. The review has indicated that delays in settlement of certain claims generally arise due to deficiencies in documents submitted by claimants, mismatch of investor details with company records, non- submission of verification reports by companies within the prescribed timelines, and cases involving transmission, succession, or legal disputes requiring additional scrutiny.

(f): The Ministry of Corporate affairs through Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) has taken the several measures to facilitate the recovery of unclaimed assets by investors. These include an online search facility on the www.iepf.gov.in which enables the investors to identify unclaimed assets and initiate the claim process. Further, through initiatives like Niveshak Shivir and Saksham Niveshak, the investors can update their KYC details, bank mandates, contact information and nomination to enable direct credit of dividends and prevent dividends and shares from becoming unclaimed.

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