Doubling limit to expedite NPA recovery: Finance Ministry

New Delhi: The government has doubled the pecuniary limit to Rs 20 lakh for filing applications in the debt recovery tribunals (DRTs) to declutter them and help them focus on high-value matter.
Financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar said the higher limit will free up DRTs, leading to quicker recovery from defaulters. The government amended the rules of Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, last week and raised the limit from `10 lakh earlier. This was part of the finance ministry’s move to make the debt recovery process more efficient.
As many as 38,376 cases between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh are pending in various DRTs. These made up for 38 per cent of the number of cases as of June but, in value terms, they accounted for just 4per cent.
The latest data suggest the number of the cases within this bracket have touched 41 per cent of all cases now.
“Data indicates that 80-85 per cent of non-performing assets (NPAs) cases in the range of Rs 10-20 lakh are fully secured. For their recovery, lenders can take action under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act 2002 (SARFAESI Act),” Kumar said.
The Union finance ministry has also asked all states to monitor that the district magistrates pass order within 60 days for handing over physical possession of pledged collateral of defaulting borrowers to the lenders.