Wilful defaulters rise by over 200 to 2,494 in FY21: Nirmala Sitharaman

The number of wilful defaulters has increased from 2,208 to 2,494 at the end of March 31, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday. As per RBI data on global operations, during the last three financial years, public sector banks (PSBs) have effected recovery of Rs 3,12,987 crore in non-performing assets (NPAs) and written-off loans, she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

“RBI has further apprises that the total number of unique wilful defaulters reported by PSBs was 2,017 as on March 31, 2019, 2,208 as on March 31, 2020 and 2,494 as on March 31, 2021,” she said.

An estimated Rs 49,000 crore is lying unclaimed with banks and insurance companies, the Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed the Rajya Sabha.

The data on the unclaimed amount is till December 31, 2020.

In a separate development, unemployment rate for women fell to 4.2 per cent in 2019-20 from 5.1 per cent in 2018-19, according to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by National Statistical Office. According to the statement, the findings of the survey were informed by Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameshwar Teli in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.