Finance Ministry informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that just one of total 9,650 sanctioned loan accounts, each amounting to ₹100 crore plus, turned bad during April 01, 2019 to September 30, 2022. In response to another question, it said that while retail loans have minimum share in overall NPA, agriculture and allied activities lead the list.

In response to a question, Minister of State in the Finance Ministry, Bhagwat Karad, furnished a list of the number of loans sanctioned above ₹100 crore and of the number of loans that turned NPA during April 1, 2019 and September 30, 2022. This table showed a total of 9,650 such loans sanctioned. “Further, PSBs have informed that a total amount of ₹297 crore was recovered from one NPA, which turned into an NPA out of loans sanctioned during the period from April 1, 2019 to September 30, 2022,” he said.

In response to another question, he said the gross NPA ratio (as a percentage of advances) came down to 7.57 per cent at the end of FY22 from 15.52 per cent in FY18. During this period, while share of industry dropped to 27.51 per cent to 10.71 per cent and for services it reduced to 7.81 per cent from 12.34 per cent. Similarly, it dropped to 1.89 per cent from 2.22 per cent. However, for agriculture and allied activities, gross NPA rose to 11.39 per cent at the end of FY 22 from 9.51 per cent.

Wilful defaulters

Replying to another question, Karad said, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reported that the total number of wilful defaulters, each having an outstanding loan of ₹25 lakh or more, in public sector banks was 8,045 as of June 30, 2017, and 12,439 as of June 30, 2022; whereas in private sector banks, it was 1,616 as of June 30, 2017, and 2,447 as of June 30, 2022.

He further said, “The RBI has informed that as of June 30, 2017, there were 8,744 suit-filed wilful defaulters and 917 non-suit-filed wilful defaulters in public and private sector banks, and as of June 30, 2022, the same stands at 14,485 and 401, respectively.” The list of suit-filed wilful defaulters of ₹25 lakh and above is available in the public domain on the websites of the Credit Information Companies (CICs), and that of non-suit-filed wilful defaulters is confidential in nature and not in the public domain.

He also said that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has informed that since 2014, the fugitive economic offenders (FEOs), viz. Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara, Chetan Kumar Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, and Hitesh Kumar Narendrabhai Patel, have not paid their loan. The cumulative loan amount of these FEOs is to the tune of ₹37,185.83 crore. Action by the ED resulted in the attachment or seizure of assets worth ₹33,862.20 crore, of which assets worth ₹15,113.02 crore has been restituted to the PSBs. Further, the banks have realised ₹7,975.27 crore from the sale of assets handed over to them by the ED.

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