Public sector banks in India have written off loans amounting to ₹42,000 crore in the first half of the current fiscal year, according to information shared in Parliament on Monday.
The State Bank of India (SBI) accounted for ₹8,312 crore of the write-offs, followed by Punjab National Bank with ₹8,061 crore, Union Bank of India with ₹6,344 crore, and Bank of Baroda with ₹5,925 crore during the April-September 2024 period.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that loan write-offs do not absolve borrowers of their repayment responsibilities. “Borrowers remain liable for repayment, and banks continue recovery efforts through various available mechanisms,” he stated.
During the same period, public sector banks managed to recover ₹37,253 crore, nearly matching the amount written off.
In his written response to the Lok Sabha, Chaudhary also highlighted that in the financial year 2023-24, public sector banks wrote off loans worth ₹1.14 lakh crore, a slight reduction compared to ₹1.18 lakh crore in the previous year.
