Decline in NPAs of public sector banks: BJP terms it 'great news', Cong calls it eyewash

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The consistent decline in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the public sector banks (PSBs), in the past five financial years, has energised the common people as well as investors on account of a positive outlook for the economy, but politically, the sentiment remains divided.

A couple of leaders, pertaining to BJP, Congress and CPI, sharing their views on Finance Ministry’s recent report, said, "NPAs of public sector banks witnessed a slump from 9.11 per cent in March 2021 to 2.58 per cent in March 2025."

BJP welcomed the reduction in NPAs in the past four years, calling it a progressive step. Congress called it an eyewash while CPI remained sceptical of such an outcome.

Shantanu Thakur, MoS for Shipping and Waterways, termed this a significant achievement and said that the nation is steadily moving ahead under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP MP Brij Lal said that this is great news for the country as well as countrymen.

“This is big news. If the percentage of non-performing sectors is decreasing, it means the performing sectors are growing. That’s exactly why we are the fourth-largest economy in the world, and soon we will be the third. So, this is great news for the country and for all Indians," he said.

On the other hand, Congress MP Manish Tewari accused the government of hiding the losses and said that the banks suffered huge setbacks, but it was not reflected in the report.

“The government should disclose how many such individuals, in the past 9-10 years since the implementation of IBC, took loans from banks and later got away by repaying only 4-5 per cent of the amount — causing significant losses to the banks,” he said.

Saptagiri Ulaka, another Congress MP, said, "These are just numbers. Unless we go into the details, we won’t understand the full picture. I believe numbers alone don’t provide the right answers."

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar told IANS, "If it’s true, then it’s good, but I can’t comment much on this, as I haven’t seen the report yet. If it's genuine, it’s a positive sign because NPA is a major issue.”

“The question is, how did it reduce?" he asked.

--IANS

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