FM urges expedited refunds, seamless KYC at the 29th FSDC meeting

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for swift action to refund unclaimed financial assets to rightful owners and emphasized streamlining know-your-customer (KYC) norms to improve user experience at the 29th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held on Tuesday.

The FSDC also deliberated on issues related to macro-financial stability and India’s preparedness to deal with them, the finance ministry said in a statement.

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“In light of the analysis of cybersecurity regulations, sectoral preparedness, and the recommendations of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) 2024-25, the FSDC considered strengthening the cyber resilience framework of the Indian financial sector through a financial sector-specific cybersecurity strategy,” the statement said.

The FSDC also outlined a roadmap to implement past decisions and Budget announcements, focusing on regulatory efficiency, unclaimed assets, and investor onboarding at its latest meeting, it added.

At the FSDC meeting, chaired by Sitharaman in Mumbai, regulators were asked to organize coordinated multi-agency district-level camps to facilitate claims of unclaimed amounts—ranging from dormant bank deposits to insurance and pension funds.

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The interest of common citizens must be kept in mind, Sitharaman said, adding that claims must be refunded expeditiously.

Sitharaman also urged members to take proactive steps to ensure a seamless KYC experience across financial services.

Meanwhile, the FSDC also discussed prescribing common KYC norms, including for NRIs, and greater digitalization of the onboarding process apart from reviewing progress on earlier decisions and budget announcements.

Key discussions included strategies to reduce unclaimed financial assets, enhance regulatory responsiveness, boost investments, expand factoring services, and strengthen the account aggregator ecosystem, the finance ministry said.

The council assessed global and domestic macro-financial developments and highlighted the need to remain vigilant against potential systemic risks, the ministry said, adding that the FSDC reviewed cybersecurity preparedness in the financial sector, following the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) 2024–25, and discussed building a sector-specific cyber resilience strategy.

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The 29th meeting of the FSDC was attended by top ministry of finance officials including MoS finance Pankaj Choudhary, finance secretary Ajay Seth, chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, and heads of Sebi, Irdai, PFRDA, IFSCA, IBBI, and CERT-In.