According to SEBI's Annual Report for FY26, unclaimed dividends with listed companies rose 15.7% year-on-year to ₹2,689 crore, up from ₹2,324 crore in FY25. The amount stood at ₹1,838 crore in FY24, highlighting a sharp increase over the past two years. This trend contrasts with mutual fund redemption amounts, which declined marginally by 0.5% to ₹1,122 crore in FY26 from ₹1,128 crore in FY25, though they were higher than the ₹1,024 crore recorded in FY24. The total unclaimed dividend and redemption amounts in mutual funds stood at ₹3,811 crore as of March 31, 2026, compared with ₹3,452 crore at the end of the preceding financial year.
Under the Companies Act, 2013, dividends that remain unclaimed for seven consecutive years must be transferred by companies to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF), a fund established by the Central Government. Government data shows that companies transferred unclaimed dividends worth ₹1,135 crore to the IEPF in FY25, following a significantly higher transfer of ₹2,523 crore in FY24. Over the five financial years from FY21 to FY25, companies transferred a cumulative ₹5,061 crore of unclaimed dividends to the IEPF.
Despite the rising quantum of unclaimed dividends, the liability remains insignificant on corporate balance sheets. Classified as part of current liabilities, unclaimed dividends account for only a tiny fraction of companies' short-term obligations. The increase in unclaimed dividends comes even as listed companies continue to return substantial cash to shareholders, with Nifty 500 companies distributing nearly ₹5 lakh crore as dividends in FY26, equivalent to around 29% of their profits.
To improve investor outreach and reduce the stock of unclaimed assets, SEBI has partnered with the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to launch the Niveshak Shivir initiative. The programme assists investors in reclaiming unpaid dividends and shares by providing support for IEPF-5 claim filings, dematerialisation of shares, and KYC and nomination updates. Six Niveshak Shivirs were organised during 2025-26 in Pune, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, while dedicated Seva Kendras were made operational across six states. SEBI has also enabled integration of holdings with DigiLocker, allowing investors to access demat and mutual fund information at a single location, and introduced a centralised mechanism for nominees to report investor deaths.
