A strategic preparatory meeting between the Investor Education Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India has paved the way for the launch of Niveshak Shivir – a nationwide initiative to simplify the complex processes for reclaiming unclaimed dividends and shares from the companies. It offers a direct pathway to recover long-forgotten investments along with an aim to enhance financial literacy of the investors and reduce their dependence on intermediaries.
The Indian financial landscape is marked by significant accumulation of unclaimed investor assets over Rs. 50,000 crores as of 2023. Under the applicable rules, companies have to necessarily transfer unclaimed dividends and corresponding shares to the IEPFA after seven years. Thereafter, the amount could be claimed by filing certain forms, submitting necessary documents and fulfilling other elaborate procedures which have been proved to be cumbersome for many.
The Niveshak Shivir therefore, aims to significantly do away with complex procedures and aims to provide a single platform where investors can directly interact with representatives from the companies and officials from the Registrars and Transfer Agents. Further, a helpdesk would also be established for on-ground support and guidance to make reclamation process more accessible and less daunting. Moreover, the Shivir would aim at educating the investors about importance of record keeping, understanding dividend process and significance of nomination so as to empower them to manage their investments more effectively in the future.
The launch of the Shivir would commence from Mumbai and Ahmedabad later this month and would spread to other cities as per needs and requirements. The initiative represents a strong and welcome commitment of the regulators to enhance investor protection and investor inclusion in the financial system. The Shivir would help numerous investors in realising the value of their long-forgotten investments and inject the money in the hands of their rightful owners.