The bankers are concerned over the rising non-performing assets (NPAs) and overdue of loans in Odisha. While the NPAs amount to more than 8 per cent, the overdue of loans constitute 51.55 per cent, which is alarming, reveals the latest report of the State level Bankers’ Committee (SlBC). The SlBC report says that around Rs95,000 crore of loan payment is overdue and uncertainty over repayment looms large, thanks to the economic slowdown, for which extension of credit has also declined.
Out of the total loan overdue, public sector banks alone are having more than Rs64,000 crore. The loan overdue of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) is Rs8,700 crore, reports the SlBC. During last one year, the banks have extended less than Rs1,112 crore, which is showing a negative growth in the overall credit extension. The total outstanding advances decreased from Rs1,44,726 crore as of March 31, 2014 to Rs1,43, 614 crore as of March 31, 2015.
Due to the high NPAs and the alarming rise in loan overdue, the banks are unable to recycle their funds, reports the SlBC. The rise in the NPAs and non-repayment of loans in the social sector funding like PMRY, PMEGP, SJSRY and WCC is causing concern. In PMRY/PMEGP, the loan overdue is nearly 80 per cent and the NPA is 35 per cent. In SJSRY, the loan overdue is 71 per cent and the NPA is 40 per cent. In the education loan, the overdue is above 62 per cent amounting to around Rs2000 crore.
In the MSME sector, the loan overdue is over 51 per cent amounting to Rs21,500 crore. The NPA is the highest in agricultural term loan, which is more than 20 per cent and loan overdue in this sector is 50 per cent. In the agriculture and allied sector, the loan overdue is around Rs22,500 crore and the NPA Rs2,800 crore.
In case of the priority sector lending, the NPA is above 10 per cent and the loan overdue more than 46 per cent. The SlBC has urged the State Government to constitute a recovery mechanism, which would in turn help the banks to encourage credit flow to different sectors.