Lok Sabha Question No. 1902 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-19
Subject: Decrease in Bank NPAs
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Ravneet Singh, Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1902

ANSWERED ON- 19/12/2022

## DECREASE IN BANK NPAs

## 1902. SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of the public sector banks have come down in the recent years and if so, the details thereof during the last five years, year-wise;

- (b) whether it is a fact that the NPAs of the public sector banks have been reduced primarily due to the writing off of loans from the account books of these public sector banks and if so, the details thereof, public sector bank-wise;

(c) the details of the total amount of loans which have been written off by various banks in the country during the said period;

- (d) the total amount of written off loans which could be recovered during the said period, bank-wise;
- (e) the details of the top 50 loan write off and the top 50 wilful bank defaulters during the said period; and
- (f) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to recover written off loans and also to further reduce NPAs of the public sector banks?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## (DR. BHAGWAT KARAD)

(a) to (f): The gross NPAs of public sector banks (PSBs) which had peaked to Rs. 8,95,601 crore (Gross NPA ratio of 14.58%) in 2018 primarily as a result of  the Asset Quality Review undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) whereby the stressed assets were transparently recognised as NPAs, have since declined to Rs. 5,40,958 crore (Gross NPA ratio of 7.28%) as on 31.3.2022, consequent to G overnment's strategy of recognition, resolution, recapitalisation and reforms. Decline in NPAs can be due to upgradation of NPA accounts, recoveries in NPA accounts and lower slippages. In the last five financial years, the PSBs have made an aggregate recovery of Rs. 4,80,111 crore from NPA accounts  and  upgradation  of  NPAs  of  Rs.  1,45,356  crore.  Further,  slippages  into  NPAs  have  reduced  from  Rs. 3,38,710 crore for FY 2016-17 to Rs. 1,44,315 crore for FY 2021-22, all of which has resulted in decline of NPAs. The decline in NPAs can also be due to write-off which is primarily an exercise undertaken for cleaning of balance-sheet, avail of tax benefit and optimise capital by PSBs, as per RBI guidelines and banks' board approved policies. As per RBI data, year-wise details of gross NPAs in PSBs during the last five financial years are as under:

| As on     | Amount (in crore Rs.)   |
|-----------|-------------------------|
| 31.3.2018 | 8,95,601                |
| 31.3.2019 | 7,39,541                |
| 31.3.2020 | 6,78,317                |
| 31.3.2021 | 6,16,616                |
| 31.3.2022 | 5,40,958                |

Bank-wise  details  of  NPAs  written  off  and  recoveries  made  in  written  off  accounts  by  PSBs  during  the  last  five financial years are at Annex-1 .

With  regard  to  the  details  of  the  top  50  loans  that  were  written  off,  RBI  has  informed  that  account-wise information on written off loan accounts is not maintained by it. Further, under the provisions of section 45E of the  RBI  Act,  1934,  RBI  is  prohibited  from  disclosing  borrower-wise  credit  information,  since  the  credit information submitted by a bank is treated as confidential and is not to be published or otherwise disclosed. However, Scheduled Commercial Banks and All Indian Financial Institutions report certain credit information of all borrowers having aggregate credit exposure of Rs. 5 crore and above to RBI, under its Central Repository of  Information  on  Large  Credits  (CRILC)  database.  As  per  the  CRILC  data,  the  details  of  top  50  wilful defaulters are at Annex-2 .

Comprehensive steps have been taken by the Government to deter defaulters, to take effective action against them and to recover the default amount from them, including recovery from written off loans. It has enabled PSBs to recover an aggregate amount of Rs. 4,80,111 crore during the last five financial years. The steps taken to reduce NPAs, include, inter alia , the following -

- (1) Change in credit culture has been effected, with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) fundamentally changing  the  creditor-borrower  relationship,  taking  away  control  of  the  defaulting  company  from promoters/owners,  and  debarring  wilful  defaulters  from  the  resolution  process.  To  make  the  process more stringent, personal guarantor to corporate debtor has also been brought under the ambit of IBC. Under IBC, resolution plans have been approved in 553 cases up to September 2022, with Rs. 2.43 lakh crore amount realisable by financial creditors.
- (2) The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 has been amended to make it more effective, with provision f or three months' imprisonment in case the borrower does not provide asset details, and for the lender to get possession of mortgaged property within 30 days.
- (3) As per RBI instructions, wilful defaulters are not sanctioned any additional facilities by banks or financial institutions, and their unit is debarred from floating new ventures for five years.
- (4) Wilful defaulters and companies with wilful defaulters as promoters/directors have been debarred from accessing  capital  markets  to  raise  funds, vide Securities  and  Exchange  Board  of  India  (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2016.
- (5) Jurisdiction of Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRTs) was increased from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh to enable the DRTs to focus on high value cases resulting in higher recovery for the banks and financial institutions.
- (6) Under  the  PSB  Reforms  Agenda,  comprehensive  and  automated  Early  Warning  Systems  (EWS)  were instituted in PSBs, with ~80 EWS triggers and use of third-party data for time-bound remedial actions in the borrowing accounts. Further, PSBs have created Stressed Asset Management Verticals for stringent recovery,  segregated  pre-  and  post-sanction  follow-up  roles  for  clean  and  effective  monitoring,  and engaging specialised monitoring agencies for monitoring of large-value accounts.
- (7) The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 has been enacted to provide for attachment of property of a fugitive economic offender, confiscation of such offender's property and disentitlement of the offender from defending any civil claim.
- (8) All  Credit  Institutions  have  been  mandated  by  RBI  to  become  members  of  all  credit  information companies  (CICs)  and  submit  credit  information,  including  historical  data,  pertaining  to  borrowers  to CICs, and the data to be updated regularly and to be shared with other credit institutions.

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## Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 1902, regarding Decrease in Bank NPAs

## Details of NPAs written off by Public Sector Banks

Amounts in crore Rs.

|                        | Amount written off   | Amount written off   | Amount written off   | Amount written off   | Amount written off   | Recovery from written-off accounts   | Recovery from written-off accounts   | Recovery from written-off accounts   | Recovery from written-off accounts   | Recovery from written-off accounts   |
|------------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Bank                   | FY 2017-18           | FY 2018-19           | FY 2019-20           | FY 2020-21           | FY 2021-22           | FY 2017-18                           | FY 2018-19                           | FY 2019-20                           | FY 2020-21                           | FY 2021-22                           |
| Bank of Baroda 1       | 7,148                | 19,292               | 15,912               | 14,782               | 17,967               | 917                                  | 1,295                                | 1,532                                | 2,985                                | 2,510                                |
| Bank of India          | 8,976                | 7,405                | 7,618                | 8,815                | 10,443               | 408                                  | 971                                  | 1,775                                | 530                                  | 1,097                                |
| Bank of Maharashtra    | 2,460                | 5,127                | 5,698                | 4,931                | 3,118                | 138                                  | 245                                  | 342                                  | 844                                  | 642                                  |
| Canara Bank 2          | 10,710               | 21,042               | 12,431               | 7,642                | 8,210                | 724                                  | 1,874                                | 1,196                                | 3,032                                | 2,747                                |
| Central Bank of India  | 2,924                | 10,375               | 4,169                | 5,992                | 1,236                | 410                                  | 557                                  | 693                                  | 297                                  | 332                                  |
| Indian Bank 3          | 5,242                | 7,091                | 12,151               | 8,371                | 8,347                | 249                                  | 158                                  | 261                                  | 618                                  | 1,612                                |
| Indian Overseas Bank   | 6,908                | 7,794                | 16,405               | 4,618                | 3,769                | 3                                    | 28                                   | 39                                   | 32                                   | 19                                   |
| Punjab and Sind Bank   | 460                  | 1,635                | 1,781                | 71                   | 1,134                | 49                                   | 160                                  | 178                                  | 125                                  | 261                                  |
| Punjab National Bank 4 | 15,631               | 24,076               | 18,444               | 15,877               | 18,312               | 1,351                                | 3,213                                | 4,333                                | 2,498                                | 3,441                                |
| State Bank of India    | 39,151               | 58,905               | 52,362               | 34,402               | 19,666               | 5,333                                | 8,345                                | 9,250                                | 10,297                               | 7,782                                |
| UCO Bank               | 2,735                | 4,420                | 12,479               | 9,410                | 3,851                | 182                                  | 448                                  | 1,003                                | 986                                  | 1,546                                |
| Union Bank of India 5  | 13,371               | 16,040               | 16,426               | 16,983               | 19,484               | 474                                  | 1,774                                | 3,401                                | 2,537                                | 2,750                                |
| IDBI Bank Limited      | 12,515               | 6                    | 6                    | 6                    | 6                    | 219                                  |                                      |                                      |                                      |                                      |

Source: RBI, Global Operations

1  Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank were amalgamated into Bank of Baroda with effect from 1.4.2019

2  Syndicate Bank was amalgamated into Canara Bank with effect from 1.4.2020

3  Allahabad Bank was amalgamated into Indian Bank with effect from 1.4.2020

4  Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India were amalgamated into Punjab National Bank with effect from 1.4.2020

5  Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank were amalgamated into Union Bank of India with effect from 1.4.2020

6  IDBI Bank Limited, was recategorised as a private sector bank by RBI with effect from 21.1.2019.

Note: The figures of the banks amalgamated are incorporated into those for the respective bank into which they were amalgamated.

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## Lok Sabha unstarred question no. 1902, regarding Decrease in Bank NPAs

## Details of top 50 wilful defaulters in Scheduled Commercial Banks as on 31.3.2022

Amounts in crore Rs.

| Borrower Name                                               | Amount owed   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Gitanjali Gems Limited                                      | 7,848         |
| Era Infra Engineering Limited                               | 5,879         |
| Rei Agro Limited                                            | 4,803         |
| Concast Steel and Power Limited                             | 4,596         |
| ABG Shipyard Limited                                        | 3,708         |
| Frost International Limited                                 | 3,311         |
| Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Limited                      | 2,931         |
| Rotomac Global Private Limited                              | 2,893         |
| Coastal Projects Limited                                    | 2,311         |
| Zoom Developers Private Limited                             | 2,147         |
| Kudos Chemie Limited                                        | 2,082         |
| VMC Systems Limited                                         | 2,001         |
| Transstroy (India) Limited                                  | 1,932         |
| Amtek Auto Limited                                          | 1,926         |
| Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited                           | 1,890         |
| IVRCL Limited                                               | 1,766         |
| Best Foods Limited                                          | 1,653         |
| Forever Precious Jewellery and Diamonds Private Limited     | 1,639         |
| Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Limited                                 | 1,599         |
| Siddhi Vinayak Logistic Limited                             | 1,588         |
| Pratibha Industries Limited                                 | 1,497         |
| Svogl Oil Gas and Energy Limited                            | 1,486         |
| Surya Vinayak Industries Limited                            | 1,481         |
| Unity Infraprojects Limited                                 | 1,476         |
| Hanung Toys and Textiles Limited                            | 1,449         |
| Nakoda Limited                                              | 1,448         |
| Gili India Limited                                          | 1,447         |
| EMC Limited                                                 | 1,342         |
| S Kumars Nationwide Limited                                 | 1,334         |
| Sterling Biotech Limited                                    | 1,311         |
| Amira Pure Foods Private Limited                            | 1,293         |
| Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (I) Limited                    | 1,157         |
| Gupta Coal India Private Limited                            | 1,152         |
| Nakshatra Brands Limited                                    | 1,149         |
| Sintex Industries Limited                                   | 1,147         |
| Sterling Oil Resources Limited                              | 1,028         |
| Wind World (India) Limited                                  | 993           |
| Ezeego One Travel and Tours Limited                         | 944           |
| Parekh Aluminex Limited                                     | 934           |
| Corporate Ispat Alloys Limited                              | 933           |
| JVL Agro Industries Limited                                 | 932           |
| First Leasing Company of India Limited                      | 896           |
| Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited                        | 886           |
| Shri Lal Mahal Limited                                      | 881           |
| Kingfisher Airlines Limited                                 | 866           |
| Jain Infraprojects Limited                                  | 853           |
| Metalyst Forgings Limited                                   | 818           |
| Firestar International Limited Jay Polychem (India) Limited | 803 798       |

Source: RBI