Gross NPAs of Public Sector Banks declined by Rs 89,189 crore in March

Gross NPAs of PSBs have declined by Rs 89,189 crore from the peak of Rs 8,95,601 crore in March 2018 to Rs 8,06,412 crore in March 2019, FM Sitharaman said.

New Delhi: The gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have declined by Rs 89,189 crore in March 2019, government has said.

“As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on global operations (provisional data for the financial year ending March 2019), Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have declined by Rs  89,189 crore from the peak of Rs 8,95,601 crore in March 2018 to Rs 8,06,412 crore in March 2019 (provisional data),” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in, in a written reply to a Parliament question in Rajya Sabha said.

As per RBI data on global operations, aggregate gross advances of PSBs increased from Rs 18,19,074 crore as on 31.3.2008 to Rs 52,15,920 crore as on 31.3.2014.

The FM informed that the government adopted the comprehensive 4R’s strategy consisting of recognition of NPAs transparently, resolution and recovering value from stressed accounts, recapitalising Public Sector Banks (PSBs), and reforms in PSBs and financial ecosystem to ensure a responsible and clean system.

By addressing the underlying causes behind the build-up of stress in PSBs through comprehensive reform to change credit culture and tighten discipline for every stakeholder in the financial system, institutionalising robust underwriting and monitoring, governance reforms, and leverage the transformation potential of technology, the risk of recurrence of excessive stress in PSBs has been minimised and PSBs have emerged stronger.

As per inputs received from RBI, the share of lending by PSBs and Private Sector Banks to real estate sector as a percentage of total lending has increased from 16.77 percent in 2013 to 17.57 percent in 2016. Further, their total advances to the real estate sector rose from   Rs 8,55,695 crore in 2013 to Rs 12,11,889 crore in 2016, she added.