Hyderabad: State-owned banks provide cheap loans to firms whose success depends on getting approvals from the government, and it’s not just Vijay Mallya anymore. There are 2,623 individuals who owe the banks a sum of Rs 1.96 lakh crore, 10 among them are high-value defaulters who alone owe over Rs 40,000 crore to banks.
The top ten defaulters alone owe over Rs 40,000 crore, leading infamous list is Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems Ltd, owing a colossal Rs 7,110 crore followed by Era Infra Engineering Ltd and REI Agro Ltd, with debts of Rs 5,879 crore and Rs 4,803 crore, respectively. Others include Concast Steel and Power Ltd, ABG Shipyard Ltd, Frost International Ltd, Winsome Diamonds & Jewellery, Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd, Coastal Projects Ltd, and Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd.
During Tuesday’s session of the Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “2,623 individuals owe the banks a sum of Rs 1.96 lakh crore. What extra and special steps are being taken to deal with wilful defaulters?”
Responding to which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said legal suites filed against 13,978 accounts and the initiation of 11,483 SARFAESI cases. Additionally, FIRs have been filed in 5,674 cases, recovering an aggregate amount of Rs 33,801 crore.
