Union Finance Ministry constituted H R Khan panel to evaluate unclaimed PPF

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 3 September 2014 constituted H R Khan panel to assess the amount of unclaimed deposits in the PPF accounts and Post Office saving schemes. H R Khan is the Deputy Governor of RBI.

The members of the Committee would include Secretary, Department of Posts, Joint Secretaries in the Union Ministry of Law and Budget Division of the Finance Ministry, Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India and Executive Director, Punjab National Bank.

 
The panel will suggest steps for utilisation of unclaimed funds for the benefit of senior citizens. The panel will also suggest the changes required in the legal framework to recover these funds and whether the unclaimed deposit should come to the government or to be kept in a separate account.

The panel has been asked to submit its report by 31 December 2014.

The panel was constituted in the light of the fact that there is no official estimate to ascertain the unclaimed amounts in PPF and small saving schemes. However, it is believed that the amount could run into hundreds of crores of rupees.

Moreover, in the postal department, a post office saving account is declared silent or inoperative when there is no transaction for three years.

Public Provident Fund (PPF)
A PPF is a 15-year investment scheme that attracts tax exemption. The minimum annual investment in PPF is 500 rupees.

The Union Budget 2014-2015 announced increase in the maximum annual investment limit in PPF by 50000 rupees. the maximum annual investment limit will now be 1.5 lakh rupees.