Didi tears into Modi government.
Public sector banks (PSBs) wrote off Rs 2.41 lakh crore worth of loans between April 2014 and September 2017, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Writing-off non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans is a regular exercise conducted by banks to clean up their balance sheet, and achieving taxation efficiency, Minister of State of Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply. "As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on global operations, public sector banks have written-off (including compromise) an amount of Rs 2,41,911 crore from financial year 2014-15 till September 2017," the minister said. Writing off loans is done, inter-alia, for tax benefit and capital optimisation, he said.
"Borrowers of such written off loans continue to be liable for repayment," he added. Shukla said that recovery of dues takes place on ongoing basis under legal mechanism, including SARFAESI Act and debt recovery tribunals.
"Therefore, write-offs does not benefit borrowers," he added. The minister said RBI has apprised it that borrower-wise credit information is not available for disclosure. The RBI Act provides that credit information submitted by a bank should be treated as confidential and not be published or otherwise disclosed
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has questioned why the Centre is not ready to disclose details of credit information by a public sector bank in Parliament.
Even in Parliament reply, the Government of India says the details of credit information by a public sector bank cannot be disclosed, Banerjee tweeted, She asked, "Why is this confidentiality? Whom is the Government trying to protect?" The chief minister demanded immediate disclosure of the complete list of public sector banks defaulters. "We demand immediate disclosure of the complete list of defaulters of public sector banks, whose loans have been written off. Is it not a big, big, big scam ???" she asked.
Banerjee also expressed shock as the BJP-led central government did not consider the farmers' appeal to waive their loans despite reports of suicide by peasants who failed to pay their debts. "I am shocked to see that at a time, when the farmers in the country are crying and committing suicide for their loan burden and asking for waiver of farmers' loan, the Government of India has not even considered that. "On the contrary, the Government of India has decided to write off Non-Performing Assets of public sector banks to the tune of Rs 2,41,911 crore from the Financial Year 2014-15 till September, 2017," she stated.
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