New Delhi, Sept 18 (KNN) The banks in the state of Gujarat have registered a rise in the volume of bad loans by over 2.5 times, that is more than double the statistics registered in June of 2014, a report said.

According to the report released by State Level bankers Committee (SLBC) Gujarat, the rising bad loans is a result of the poor lending-return transaction of primarily agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.

Citing statistics, the committee informed that the gross NPAs of banks in Gujarat amounted for 35,342 crores, accounting for 7.4 per cent of the total loans provided by the banking institutions.  Comparing it with the data of June 2014, the committee informed that then the NPAs stood around 14,406 crores, amounting to 4.03 per cent.

Informing about the prime concerns, the committee said that there has not been significant credit off take, due to the moderation in the economy.  The poor performance in different sectors including textiles, steel, infrastructure and cement from the industries of Gujarat have been a prime factor behind the rising NPAs, the committee observed.

While the NPAs continue to rise, the MSME lending business has registered an upward trend, marking a 10 per cent year on year growth in the volume of loans extended to both agri as well as MSME sector in the state of Gujarat. (KNN/ DA)