The top 10 wilful defaulters owe over Rs 40,635 crore to banks as of 31 March 2025.

ABG Shipyard sits at the top of the list with Rs 6,695 crore due to banks. 

The others in succession are Gitanjali Gems with a default of Rs 6,236 crore, Beta Napthol with Rs 5,268 crore and Rakesh Kumar Kuldip Singh Wadhawan with Rs 4,291 crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The list continues with erstwhile directors of Bhushan Power & Steel owing Rs 3,810 crore, Raza Textiles Rs 3,260 crore, Gilt Pack Rs 3,080 crore, Rank Industries Rs 2,655 crore and Housing Development and Infrastructure Rs 2,540 crore to banks.

Sitharaman further stated that Reserve Bank of India (RBI), vide Master Directions on Treatment of wilful defaulters and large defaulters, has advised lenders to submit the list of wilful defaulters to all Credit Information Companies (CICs) on a monthly basis, and CICs are required to display the same on their respective websites.

As per inputs received from RBI, a bank may undertake compromise settlements in respect of accounts categorised as wilful defaulters without prejudice to the criminal proceeding underway against such borrowers, Sitharaman said.

The primary regulatory objective behind allowing wilful defaulters to enter into compromise settlement is to enable multiple avenues to lenders to recover the money in default without much delay, she stated.

Apart from the time value loss, inordinate delays result in asset value deterioration which hampers ultimate recoveries, she said, adding, compromise settlement is recognised as a valid resolution mechanism under RBI's (Commercial Banks - Resolution of Stressed Assets) Directions, 2025.

Further, she said, the imperatives for lenders are no different when it comes to recovery from borrowers classified as wilful defaulter.

Continuing such exposures on the balance sheets of the lenders without resolution due to legal proceedings locks lenders' funds in an unproductive asset, which is not a desirable position, she said.

Further, continuation of criminal proceedings underway or to be initiated against the borrowers classified as wilful defaulter ensures that perpetrators of any malafide action do not go scot-free.

Compromise settlement is not available to borrowers as a matter of right; rather it is a discretion to be exercised by the lenders based on their commercial judgement.

Replying to another question, Sitharaman said, the digital payment transactions have grown exponentially in the last few years due to coordinated efforts of the government, RBI and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Retail digital payment has increased from Rs 457.44 lakh crore in FY22 to Rs 849.12 lakh crore in FY25, she said.

"The specific data on demographic or geographic segments-wise contribution in digital payments is not maintained. The growth in retail digital payments, including UPI, is driven by several factors such as smartphone penetration, Aadhaar-enabled authentication, e-KYC, wider financial inclusion and expansion of merchant acceptance infrastructure across both urban and rural areas," she said.

The digital public infrastructure has supported inter-operability and simplified on-boarding processes, contributing to wider adoption across user groups, she said.

The initiatives such as the Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Digital Payments, Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), etc. have also facilitated the continued expansion of digital payments, she added.

To address the digital financial frauds, she said, various initiatives have been taken up by the Government, RBI and NPCI.

These include device binding between the customer's mobile number and device, two-factor authentication through PIN, daily transaction limits and restrictions on certain use cases.

NPCI provides an AI/ML based fraud-monitoring solution to all banks for generating alerts and declining suspicious transactions, she said, adding, RBI and banks have also been conducting awareness campaigns through short SMS, radio campaigns and other publicity material for prevention of cyber-crime.