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Lok Sabha Data Shows ₹9.75 Lakh Crore in Large Industry and Services NPAs!

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How Much Corporate Debt Was Written Off in India? 

New Delhi: The issue of bank loan write-offs for large companies and industries has once again come into focus after the Government provided detailed data in the Lok Sabha on loans written off over the last 11 financial years.

According to a Lok Sabha reply dated March 16, 2026, loans classified under “Large – Industries & Services” saw a total reduction in non-performing assets (NPAs) of approximately ₹9.75 lakh crore through write-offs between financial years 2014-15 and 2024-25.

However, the Government has made an important clarification: a loan write-off is not the same as a loan waiver. A write-off does not automatically release the borrower from repayment liability. Banks can continue recovery proceedings against borrowers even after an NPA has been written off.

What Did the Lok Sabha Ask?

The question was raised in the Lok Sabha by Shri Abhishek Banerjee under Unstarred Question No. 3748.

The Government was asked to provide:

  • The total amount of loans written off over the previous 11 financial years.

  • Category-wise and year-wise details.

  • The amount written off for large industries and services.

  • Company-wise details.

  • The names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off.

  • The amounts and reasons for those write-offs.

The Ministry of Finance, through the Department of Financial Services, provided the data based on information from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

How Much Was Written Off for Large Industries and Services?

According to the Lok Sabha reply, the amount of reduction in NPAs through write-offs in the Large – Industries & Services category was:

Financial Year Amount Written Off / Reduction in NPAs
2014-15 ₹31,723 crore
2015-16 ₹40,416 crore
2016-17 ₹68,308 crore
2017-18 ₹99,132 crore
2018-19 ₹1,48,753 crore
2019-20 ₹1,59,139 crore
2020-21 ₹1,27,050 crore
2021-22 ₹69,532 crore
2022-23 ₹1,14,528 crore
2023-24 ₹68,366 crore
2024-25 ₹47,568 crore
Total ₹9,74,515 crore

The figures are from RBI data reproduced in the March 2026 Lok Sabha answer.

That total works out to approximately ₹9.75 lakh crore.

Is ₹9.75 Lakh Crore the Amount Given as a “Loan Waiver”?

No.

This is one of the most important points when reporting the figures.

The Government explicitly states that banks write off NPAs according to RBI guidelines and their board-approved policies. Such a write-off does not result in waiver of the borrower's liability.

The borrower can still be liable for repayment, and banks can continue recovery actions.

Therefore, the headline should not say:

“Government waived ₹9.75 lakh crore of corporate loans.”

That would be misleading.

A more accurate description is:

“Banks reported ₹9.75 lakh crore in NPA write-offs in the Large Industries and Services category over FY2014-15 to FY2024-25.”

Why Do Banks Write Off Loans?

According to the Government's explanation, banks write off NPAs in accordance with RBI guidelines and their own board-approved policies.

The Government has previously stated that NPAs can be written off, including cases where full provisioning has been made after the applicable period.

A write-off is primarily an accounting/balance-sheet treatment. It does not automatically mean that the bank has stopped trying to recover the money.

What Happens to the Borrower After a Write-Off?

The Government says recovery efforts can continue even after a loan has been written off.

Banks may use mechanisms including:

  • Civil courts

  • Debt Recovery Tribunals

  • Proceedings under the SARFAESI Act

  • Insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

  • Negotiated settlements or compromise arrangements

  • Sale of non-performing assets

The Government has specifically stated that recovery from written-off loans remains an ongoing process.

How Much Was Written Off in Other Categories?

The same Lok Sabha answer provides data for several categories.

For the 11 financial years from 2014-15 to 2024-25, the figures reported by the RBI were:

Agriculture and Allied Activities

The total was approximately ₹1.46 lakh crore over the period.

The annual amount increased from ₹6,845 crore in 2014-15 to ₹21,882 crore in 2024-25.

Industries

The Industries category recorded approximately ₹9.20 lakh crore in write-offs over the 11-year period.

The highest annual figure in this category was ₹1,51,678 crore in 2018-19.

Services

The Services category recorded approximately ₹4.05 lakh crore during the same period.

The highest annual figure was ₹61,813 crore in 2022-23.

MSMEs

The MSME category recorded approximately ₹2.67 lakh crore in write-offs during the 11-year period.

The figure was ₹28,587 crore in 2024-25.

Retail Loans

Retail loan write-offs totalled approximately ₹2.11 lakh crore during the period.

The figure reached ₹45,404 crore in 2024-25.

How Many Companies Got Their Loans Written Off?

This is where the Government's answer is particularly important.

The Lok Sabha specifically asked for the names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off.

The Government responded that the RBI does not maintain the names of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off in the requested form.

Similarly, the Government said that RBI does not maintain the company-wise information requested for the Large Industries and Services category in the manner sought in the question.

Therefore, there is no official number in this Lok Sabha answer saying “X number of companies received loan waivers.”

That distinction is essential.

Why Isn't a Company-Wise List Available?

The Government has previously explained that RBI's borrower-level credit information is subject to confidentiality provisions.

In a March 2025 Lok Sabha answer, the Ministry of Finance said RBI is prohibited from disclosing borrower-wise credit information under Section 45E of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

As a result, government aggregate data can show how much was written off in particular categories, but that does not necessarily provide a complete public list of every company and its individual write-off.

Does a Write-Off Mean the Bank Lost the Entire Amount?

Not necessarily.

A written-off loan can still generate recoveries later.

The Government has stated that recovery of written-off loans is an ongoing process and that banks continue pursuing recovery through available legal and financial mechanisms.

Therefore, the amount initially written off and the amount ultimately recovered are not necessarily the same.

What About Wilful Defaulters?

A wilful default is a separate issue from an ordinary NPA write-off.

The Government has stated that it has not formulated a policy to write off loans specifically for wilful defaulters.

It has also stated that banks continue recovery actions against borrowers and use legal mechanisms where applicable.

Therefore, a news report should not automatically describe every written-off corporate loan as a loan belonging to a wilful defaulter.

What Does the Latest Lok Sabha Data Actually Show?

The latest data establishes several things:

First, large industries and services recorded approximately ₹9.75 lakh crore in NPA reductions through write-offs between FY2014-15 and FY2024-25.

Second, this figure represents write-offs, not a government announcement that ₹9.75 lakh crore of loans were simply forgiven.

Third, borrowers can remain liable for repayment after a write-off.

Fourth, banks can continue recovery proceedings.

Fifth, the Government says RBI does not maintain the requested list of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off.

Why Is the Issue Politically and Economically Important?

Large corporate loan write-offs have become an important subject in discussions about India's banking system.

Banks must deal with bad loans because large NPAs can affect their balance sheets and their ability to lend.

At the same time, questions are often raised about:

  • Why large loans became NPAs

  • How banks assessed the borrowers before lending

  • Whether adequate collateral was available

  • How much money was recovered

  • How much remained outstanding

  • Whether borrowers were classified as wilful defaulters

  • How insolvency proceedings affected recovery

  • Whether write-offs improved bank balance sheets

These questions involve banking regulation, recovery law and financial management.

Government Position on Loan Write-Offs

The Government's position is that writing off an NPA is not the same as forgiving the debt.

In its parliamentary replies, the Finance Ministry has repeatedly stated that banks continue to pursue recovery after write-offs.

The Government also says that banks take credit decisions under their board-approved policies and applicable regulatory guidelines.

The Bigger Picture

The numbers show that NPA write-offs have been significant across India's banking system.

For the Large Industries and Services category alone, the 11-year figure reported by the Government is nearly ₹9.75 lakh crore.

But the figure should be understood correctly.

It does not mean that the Government handed ₹9.75 lakh crore to companies and then cancelled the loans.

Nor does it establish that every company whose loan was written off escaped repayment.

Instead, it represents the reduction in NPAs through write-offs reported in RBI data, while recovery proceedings can continue against borrowers.

Key Facts

Question Government's reported position
Period covered FY2014-15 to FY2024-25
Large Industries & Services write-offs ₹9,74,515 crore
Approximate amount ₹9.75 lakh crore
Is this a loan waiver? No
Does borrower liability automatically end? No
Can banks continue recovery? Yes
Does RBI maintain the requested list of 10 largest companies? Government says no
Source of category data RBI
Parliamentary source Lok Sabha, March 16, 2026

Conclusion

The latest Lok Sabha data provides a clear picture of the scale of NPA write-offs in India's banking sector.

Between FY2014-15 and FY2024-25, the RBI data cited by the Government shows approximately ₹9.75 lakh crore in write-offs under the Large Industries and Services category.

However, these figures should not be described simply as “₹9.75 lakh crore of corporate loans being waived.”

The Government's official position is that a write-off is different from a waiver. Borrowers can remain liable, and banks can continue recovery proceedings.

The Government also says that RBI does not maintain the requested company-wise list of the ten largest companies whose loans were written off.

For readers, the key distinction is therefore simple:

Loan write-off ≠ loan waiver.

The latest parliamentary data shows the scale of write-offs, while the actual amount eventually recovered from individual borrowers can be different.

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