How to keep your accounts operative?

[Chawanni Advice]

Some of my friends have faced this problem and you might also have experienced it. When you are away from your home-town say been abroad for a long duration or due to work you shift to a different city but still want to keep your bank account at your home town, the banks may classify your account as inoperative or dormant if there have been no withdrawals/deposits into your account for a specified period.
Sunil has pointed out this RBI Notification which clearly specifies the criteria for classifying an account as inoperative or dormant. I am reproducing the list here for the reader's benefit:

1. Issue of cheque against available balance in the account.
2. Deposit of cheques / demand drafts into the account for clearing.
3. Deposit or withdrawal of cash from the account.
4. Issue of demand drafts by debit to the account.
5. Credits by ECS into the account. Account holder may receive credits from sources like dividend from shares, interest from bonds, deposits, debentures or other securities that may be credited directly to his account by the payer.
6. Credit of interest from any other deposits in force with the same bank or branch.
   
7. Debits against standing instructions.

Please visit Sunil's blog to read this complete blog post where he gives a little background and also suggests ways in which you can prevent your account from becoming dormant.

There is just one more point that I would like to add here in addition to debit to recurring deposits, SIP ( Systematic Investment Plan ) by ECS/Direct Debit in a mutual fund is also one of the ways in which you can keep your account active.

The original article can be found here:
http://chawanni.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-keep-your-accounts-operative.html