Portal rollout soon for speedy transfer of unclaimed shares

New Delhi: The corporate affairs ministry will launch a much-awaited integrated portal this month to speed up the transfer of old unclaimed shares and dividends to investors after about two years of planning, preparations and testing, people aware of the details said. The portal will enable investors to both check and submit claims through it.

Shares, dividends and matured debentures that are not claimed for seven years by investors are transferred by companies to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the corporate affairs ministry.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, has also approved the creation of a new chief executive post for the IEPFA, the people told ET.


Currently, Anita Shah Akella, a joint secretary in the ministry, helms the IEPFA, in addition to her other functions.

The latest moves are part of the government's efforts to cut delays in the transfer of old unclaimed shares and dividends by deploying technology, reforming the process wherever necessary ,and bolstering the staff strength at IEPFA.

The new CEO may be from the private sector or from some other wing of the government who would be required to function under the ministry, one of the people said.

"Given that senior officers from the ministry already have their hands full with their usual workload, the government felt the need to split the responsibility and have a dedicated CEO for the IEPFA," he said.

Portal features

The portal, first announced by finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her February 2023 budget speech, will likely integrate data in the MCA-21 mechanism for corporate filings, depositories and the public finance management system.

It will enable investors to submit claims, reduce duplicate processes through application programming interface, expedite the entire refund process and minimise the scope for malpractices by eliminating human dealings.