Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched a three-month-long nationwide campaign titled ‘Aapki Punji, Aapka Adhikar’ (Your Money, Your Right), aimed at helping people trace and claim their unclaimed financial assets.

The initiative seeks to assist citizens in recovering money that may have been left unclaimed in the form of deposits, insurance payouts, dividends, shares, or mutual fund proceeds.

Unclaimed financial assets have been a long-standing issue, and the campaign hopes to make the process simpler for people by offering direct support, demonstrations of digital tools, and guidance to complete their claims on the spot.

At the launch event, Sitharaman personally handed over cheques and claim orders to individuals who had successfully retrieved their unclaimed funds.

Speaking to the gathering, she encouraged everyone to spread the message. She said, "I urge you all to become ambassadors of this campaign, reach out to people you know, ask if they hold any papers of unclaimed financial assets, and guide them to register on the portal to claim what is rightfully theirs."

She added that the campaign’s success depends on fulfilling three key goals – Awareness, Access, and Action. "If the three 'A's are fulfilled, the money lying in safe custody can be rightfully claimed by the people with proper documents," she explained.

The Finance Minister also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice that inspired this initiative. "I am very grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who once advised me to go among the people and call upon them to claim what is rightfully theirs. Acting on his advice, I am glad to share that Gujarat has taken the lead in launching this campaign," she said.

Sitharaman stressed that collective participation was essential to make the effort successful. "With concerted efforts from all - the Finance Ministry, regulators, state governments, and banks in villages - if the entire chain is activated, everyone will be able to reclaim their money. This is not only our assurance, but also our duty," she said.

The launch event was attended by Gujarat Finance Minister Kanu Desai, Department of Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju, and several senior financial sector officials.

According to an official statement, the campaign has been launched by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The government said it is committed to ensuring that every rupee saved by citizens can be rightfully claimed by them or their legal heirs. The campaign aims to promote financial awareness, inclusion, and empowerment by providing citizens with clear information on how to track and claim their funds. It will be supported by detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) developed by financial regulators to make the process transparent and easy to follow.