SEBI Update - Harnessing DigiLocker as a Digital Public Infrastructure for reducing Unclaimed Assets in the Indian Securities Market

SEBI has directed its efforts towards minimizing the creation of Unclaimed Assets (UA) in the securities market to strengthen investor protection and reduce Unclaimed Assets (UA), SEBI has introduced several measures, including:

Guidelines for inactive/dormant accounts and folios,

Mandatory furnishing of contact and bank details,

Requirement for investors to either nominate a beneficiary or formally opt out,

Simplified transmission norms, and

A centralized system for reporting investor demise.

DigiLocker

To further address unidentified UA, SEBI proposes leveraging DigiLocker —a Government of India digital document wallet. Key aspects:

Stores important documents like Aadhaar, PAN, Driving License, and Death Certificate.

Recognized as equivalent to original documents under Section 9A of the IT Act, 2000 .

Facilitates easy access and verification of investor documents.

Additional details on DigiLocker’s functionalities and benefits are provided in Annexure – A of the circular

The Government of India, through an office memorandum dated December 28, 2020 , has mandated that all entities delivering citizen services must integrate with DigiLocker . Currently, documents such as bank account statements, insurance policies, and NPS statements are available in DigiLocker.

To enhance financial accessibility, SEBI proposes the inclusion of Mutual Fund (MF) and demat holding statements in DigiLocker, allowing individuals to consolidate all financial holdings within a single account.

DigiLocker Nominee

Users can nominate individuals to access their digital information after their demise.

While adding a nominee, the user must provide their mobile number and email ID .

This feature ensures that nominees can seamlessly retrieve critical financial documents, aiding in asset transmission.

Updation of status of DigiLocker User upon demise

DigiLocker will update a user’s demise status based on:

Register of Deaths maintained by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (RGI) .

Verified demise information and death certificate available with KRA systems , which manage the centralized reporting mechanism for deceased investors.

However, information shared by KRAs with DigiLocker will not be considered an ‘Issued document’.

Intimation to DigiLocker Nominee/s upon demise o