Amit Shah launches Sahara refund portal; check claim process, eligibility

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the CRCS-Sahara refund portal on Tuesday, aimed to help over 100 million depositors of the Sahara Group cooperative societies in recovering their money within a span of nine months.

Shah said, "The process of returning the money of depositors, which was stuck in four cooperative societies of the Sahara Group, has started with the launch of the Sahara refund portal."

In a statement, the Ministry of Cooperation said that the portal has been developed for the submission of legitimate claims by genuine depositors of the Sahara Group's cooperative societies, namely Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd.

This directive followed a Supreme Court order on March 29, instructing the transfer of Rs 5,000 crore from the Sahara-Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) refund account to the central registrar of cooperative societies (CRCS).

How to claim a refund online?

The Sahara refund portal can be directly accessed online through the website of the Ministry of Cooperation.

Genuine depositors can submit their claims by logging into the portal and completing the online application form. Depositors have to upload all required documents and possess an Aadhaar-linked mobile number and a bank account for claim processing.

The Sahara Group of co-operative societies will verify the claim application within 30 days of submission. Applicants will then receive a notification of their claim status either through a text message or on the portal within 15 days after the verification process.

There is no fee for submitting the online form, and refund claims can only be made through the online portal.

In the initial phase, a total of Rs 5,000 crore will be disbursed through the portal to depositors. However, each depositor will receive only Rs 10,000 in the first phase. If the first phase proves successful, the refund amount will be increased.