MITRA Platform:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced a new digital platform called MITRA.
- Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant (MITRA) will assist investors in tracking and reclaiming inactive or unclaimed mutual fund folios.
- The platform addresses a growing concern wherein investors, over time, lose track of their mutual fund investments lack of updated contact information, or unawareness of investments made in their name.
- It will allow investors to identify the overlooked investments or any investments made by any other person for which he/she may be rightful legal claimant and also encourage them to do KYC as per the current norms thus reducing the number of non-KYC compliant folios.
- It is developed by the Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTAs) to provide investors with a searchable database of inactive and unclaimed mutual fund folios at an industry-level which will empower the investors.
- The criteria for classifying a folio as inactive include an absence of investor-initiated transactions, financial or non-financial, for a period of ten years, despite having a unit balance.
- SEBI has also revised the mandate of the Unit Holder Protection Committee (UHPC) under Mutual Funds rules.
- The UHPC will now be responsible for reviewing inactive folios along with unclaimed dividends and redemptions, ensuring proactive steps are taken to reduce such cases.
