India’s public sector banks have identified 1,629 corporate borrowers as wilful defaulters, owing loan dues of Rs 1.62 lakh crore as of 31 March 2025, the finance ministry informed Parliament on Tuesday. 

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that this data is based on reports submitted by banks to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC).

The list of defaulters excludes overseas borrowers. Chaudhary said this is updated monthly and made publicly accessible through the websites of registered credit information companies such as CIBIL, Experian, Equifax and CRIF High Mark.

The government is also dealing with defaulters who have fled the country. Under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, nine individuals have been declared as fugitive economic offenders, with assets worth Rs 15,298 crore confiscated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Rs 750 crore under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA).

The Ministry of Finance also disclosed that assets worth Rs 25,806.38 crore have been restituted to victim banks and legitimate claimants in various bank fraud cases.

The government has taken several measures to deter wilful default. These include denying additional credit facilities to wilful defaulters or entities associated with them for one year even after their name is removed from the defaulter list; debarring them from launching new ventures or accessing capital markets for five years; making restructuring of loans ineligible unless certain conditions are met; and initiating criminal proceedings in eligible cases under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.

Wilful defaulters are also subject to restrictions under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, which enables attachment and confiscation of their properties and bars them from contesting civil claims in Indian courts.

While disclosure of defaulters at overseas branches is subject to host country laws, such cases must still be reported to Indian credit bureaus where possible, the Finance Ministry said.