Bathinda: Banks wrote off loans worth Rs 3.2 lakh crore extended to large industries and services over the last five financial years (2021-22 to 2025-26), compared with Rs 1.19 lakh crore in agriculture and allied activities, the Centre informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.The data comes amid continuing concerns over agrarian distress. NCRB data show 10,546 people engaged in the farming sector died by suicide in 2024, accounting for 6.2% of all suicides in the country.In a written reply to Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said loans worth Rs 3,20,481 crore in the large industries and services category and Rs 1,18,984 crore in agriculture and allied activities were written off during the period. However, the govt said the RBI does not maintain state-wise or sector-wise data on such write-offs..Among large industries and services, public sector banks accounted for the biggest share of write-offs at Rs 2,42,896 crore, followed by private sector banks (Rs 68,177 crore), foreign banks (Rs 5,617 crore) and small finance banks (Rs 3,791 crore).For agriculture and allied activities, public sector banks wrote off Rs 75,591 crore, followed by private sector banks (Rs 35,932 crore), small finance banks (Rs 7,170 crore) and foreign banks (Rs 291 crore).Chaudhary clarified that a loan write-off is an accounting exercise and not a loan waiver. Under the RBI’s Resolution of Stressed Assets Directions, 2025, write-offs are undertaken to clean up banks’ balance sheets and do not extinguish borrowers’ liabilities. Banks continue recovery proceedings even after loans are written off.The RBI has informed the government that it does not maintain State/UT-wise or sector-wise data on loan write-offs for corporates and farmers. It only compiles year-wise, category-wise data for public sector, private sector, foreign and small finance banks.Seechewal had sought details of corporate and farm loan write-offs, their State/UT-wise and sector-wise break-up, and whether the government had assessed the comparative impact of corporate debt write-offs and farmers’ debt relief on public finances and economic equity.
