Mumbai, Jul 28 (IANS): Non-performing assets (NPAs) of the scheduled commercial banks declined marginally to Rs 8.34 lakh crore as on March 31, 2021, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

Citing data from the Reserve Bank of India, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, that the NPAs in the previous financial year stood at Rs 8.96 lakh crore.

"Primarily as a result of transparent recognition of stressed assets as NPAs, gross NPAs of SCBs, as per RBI data on global operations, rose from Rs 3,23,464 crore as on March 31, 2015, to Rs 10,36,187 crore on March 31, 2018, and as a result of government's strategy of recognition, resolution, recapitalisation, and reforms, have since declined to Rs 9,33,779 crore on March 31, 2019, Rs 8,96,082 crore as on March 31, 2020, and further to Rs 8,34,902 crore (provisional data) as on March 31, 2021," he said.

He also said that the government has taken comprehensive steps to tackle NPAs which enabled SCBs to recover over Rs 6.03 lakh crore over the last five financial years.

Karad added that RBI's Covid-19 Relief Package allowed banks to grant a moratorium of six months on payment of all installments falling due between March 1 and August 31, 2020, in respect of all term loans and to defer the recovery of interest for the same period in respect of working capital facilities.