Chennai, Apr 29 (IANS): In view of the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, the government has to amend the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act sooner or later and publish the names of loan defaulters periodically, a top official of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said on Monday.

Welcoming the apex court order directing the RBI to disclose its inspection reports of banks and the names of loan defaulters, AIBEA General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said the Supreme Court has vindicated the long standing stance of the AIBEA on the issue of banks' non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans).

"Sooner or later, the government and the RBI have to come out, amend the RBI Act and publish the names of defaulters periodically to let the country know who are these defaulters and cheaters of people's money," he said.

Venkatachalam said the total amount of loan outstanding from 9,331 willful defaulters as on March 31, 2018, stands at Rs 1,22,018 crore.

Gross NPAs in the Indian banking system have grown beyond proportion over the years to touch a staggering Rs 8,95,600 crore as at the end of the financial year 2017-18.