New Delhi
Took loans from banks… did business… made money too, but I do not feel like repaying. Yes, such willful defaulters have shocking figures of all the government banks of the country, which has been disclosed by the government. In the monsoon session of Parliament, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, told the Rajya Sabha that the number of corporate borrowers who do not return from PSU Banks is beyond 1600 and they are pressing more than Rs 1.62 lakh crore.
1.62 lakh crore loans on 1629 borrowers
Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary made an important disclosure on behalf of the government. Counting the figures, he said that by 31 March 2025, PSU banks have identified 1629 corporate borrowers as defaulters who are not deliberately repaying loans. There is a huge debt of Rs 1,62,961 crore on these willful defaulters. This figure is the central reserves of information on large loans by banks except foreign borrowers (CRILC) has been collected on the basis of reports submitted.
What are these willful defaulters?
This number of wilful defaulters and the loan figure on them is going to show the financial challenges before the Indian banking sector. It is important to know here who are these willful defaulters? So let us know that these people or companies are the ability to repay the loan taken from banks, but still they declare themselves bankrupt to avoid repaying it. In clear terms, they are such borrowers who have sufficient amount to repay it, but intentionally they refuse to pay the loan.
Government is tightening the screws
The government has insisted on the steps being taken against such borrowers, along with the defaulters, the loan data on them. Giving information about the action taken on these, it was told that wilful defaulters are forbidden additional loan facilities and they also include ban on starting new business for 5 years. Apart from this, companies associated with these corporate defaulters have also been banned from entry in the equity market with the aim of preventing such defaults in future, which has reduced or limited their ability to raise money.
Pankaj Chaudhary said that banks can also initiate criminal proceedings against those who do not pay debt in deliberately in big cases and they are free for this. He said that overall, the government is intensifying efforts to curb the willful default, which has a major impact on the stability and financial health of the banking sector.
Action on the borrowers who ran away from the country
Under the master guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government is also dealing with the big defaulters, leaving the country and fleeing the country, in addition to clamping down on Willful Defaulters. According to the Minister of State for Finance, 9 such people have been declared a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and their assets worth Rs 15,298 crore have been seized under the Money Prevention Act (PMLA). This reflects the government’s determination to clamp down on criminals beyond national borders.