Parliament Question: Loans Written Off

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 3748 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 16 MARCH, 2026/PHALGUNA 25, 1947 (SAKA) Loans Written Off 3748. SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:- (a) the total amount of loans written off during the last eleven years for farmers, industrialists, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other categories, category-wise and year-wise; (b) the total amount of loans written off for large industries and service sector companies during the last eleven years, give company-wise and year-wise details thereof; and (c) the names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off during the said period, along with the amount and reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has apprised that the category-wise details regarding ‘farmers’ and ‘industrialists’, and the names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written-off is not maintained by it. However, year-wise details of loans written-off by Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks and Small Finance Banks, for categories ‘Agriculture and Allied Activities’, ‘Industry’ and ‘Services’, ‘MSME’ and Retail Loans, during the last 11 financial years (FYs), are at Annex. (b): As per RBI data for category ‘Large – Industries & Services’ the amount of loans written-off during the last 11 FYs by the aforesaid bank groups, are as under. (Amounts in crore Rs.) Reduction in NPAs Category FY due to write-offs 2014-15 31,723 2015-16 40,416 2016-17 68,308 Large – Industries & Services 2017-18 99,132 2018-19 1,48,753 2019-20 1,59,139 2020-21 1,27,0502021-22 69,532 2022-23 1,14,528 2023-24 68,366 2024-25 47,568 (c): RBI has informed that the names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written-off is not maintained by it. Banks write-off NPAs, including, inter-alia, those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, as per RBI guidelines and policy approved by banks’ Boards. Such write-off does not result in waiver of liabilities of borrowers and therefore, it does not benefit the borrower. The borrowers continue to be liable for repayment and banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in these accounts. Further, recovery in written-off loans is an ongoing process and banks continue pursuing their recovery actions initiated against borrowers under various recovery mechanisms available to them. *****Annex Lok Sabha Unstarred question no. 3748, regarding loans written off Category-wise details of written-off loans by Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks and Small Finance Banks (Amounts in crore Rs.) Financial Reduction in NPAs due to Category Year write-offs 2014-15 6,845 2015-16 6,845 2016-17 6,488 2017-18 10,747 2018-19 12,728 Agriculture and Allied Activities 2019-20 12,969 2020-21 14,483 2021-22 15,222 2022-23 23,852 2023-24 24,426 2024-25 21,882 2014-15 26,786 2015-16 36,952 2016-17 65,564 2017-18 1,00,730 2018-19 1,51,678 Industries 2019-20 1,44,425 2020-21 1,03,306 2021-22 57,242 2022-23 87,873 2023-24 52,533 2024-25 37,716 2014-15 20,669 2015-16 17,648 2016-17 22,965 2017-18 29,447 2018-19 32,736 Services 2019-20 46,072 2020-21 44,818 2021-22 49,325 2022-23 61,813 2023-24 41,877 2024-25 38,438Financial Reduction in NPAs due to Category Year write-offs 2014-15 15,449 2015-16 13,509 2016-17 19,768 2017-18 24,947 2018-19 30,582 Micro, Small and Medium 2019-20 25,754 Enterprises (MSME) 2020-21 18,460 2021-22 28,490 2022-23 35,158 2023-24 26,044 2024-25 28,587 2014-15 5,115 2015-16 5,286 2016-17 6,658 2017-18 8,283 2018-19 13,188 Retails Loans 2019-20 13,607 2020-21 18,936 2021-22 29,475 2022-23 28,467 2023-24 36,591 2024-25 45,404 Source: RBI *****