NPA of self-help groups down to 1.8 per cent: Centre

Non-performing assets (NPAs) of self-help groups (SHGs) have gone down to 1.8 percent; Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday and called upon banks to provide incentives to those having NPA of less than one per cent. Speaking at an event here, Singh said NPA for self-help groups was 9.58 per cent in 2014. “NPA has come down to 1.8 per cent as I speak…,” he said.
Singh stressed that loans given to those in need do not become NPA. “When I was the Cooperative Minister, I sent a team to Bangladesh to understand why NPA was lesser there. When they returned, I understood that need-based finance never becomes NPA. The loans given at face value become NPA,” he said.