Public sector banks’ NPAs on Mudra loans fell significantly over last few years to 3.4% in FY24, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said; in private sector banks, this fell to 0.95% from a peak of 1.77% in FY21.
Non-performing assets (NPAs) on Mudra loans have seen a significant fall in both public and private sector banks.
In case of public sector banks, NPAs on Mudra loans have declined to 3.4% in 2023-24, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
This marks an improvement from 4.77% in FY21, 4.89% in FY20 and 3.76% in FY19, she said in response to a query in the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour.
In private sector commercial banks, Mudra loan NPAs fell to 0.95% in 2023-24 from a peak of 1.77% in 2020-21 and 0.67% in 2018-19.
NPAs are loans or advances for which the principal or interest payment remains overdue for 90 days.
On interest rates for Mudra loans, Sitharaman said they vary across different banking sectors. Public sector banks offer rates between 9.15% and 12.80%, while private sector banks range from 6.96% to 28%.
Despite these variations, she emphasised that monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure fair recovery processes and address any instances of harassment.
The minister also shared NPA figures for other financial institutions involved in disbursing Mudra loans.
In case of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), NPAs dropped to 2.47% in 2023-24 from 3.86% in 2018-19.
Small Finance Banks and State Cooperative Banks also showed improvements.
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) reported a decline in NPA to 0.22% in 2023-24 from 0.47% in 2018-19.
"Overall, the NPA on disbursement for Mudra loans has come down to 2.10%," Sitharaman said.
The Mudra loan scheme, launched in 2015 under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), aims to provide financial support to micro and small enterprises.
SFIO probe into Sahara group of firms underway
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is carrying out a detailed probe into the matter related to the Sahara group of companies and it is also looking into the reason behind a sizeable number of investors not coming forward to claim the invested money in the company, Sitharaman said.
She said the entire affairs of the Sahara group were being monitored by the Supreme Court.
