Rs 2.42 lakh crore written as non-performing assets by banks

New Delhi, April 4: State-run banks have written off nearly Rs 2.42 lakh crore worth of non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, between April 2014 and September 2017, Parliament was told on Wednesday.

Minister of State of Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that writing off is a regular exercise undertaken by banks to clean up their balance sheets and achieve taxation efficiency.

"As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on global operations, public sector banks have written off (including compromise) an amount of Rs 2,41,911 crore from financial year 2014-15 till September 2017.

"Borrowers of such written-off loans continue to be liable for repayment," the Minister said.