New Delhi, May 28: Non-performing assets or NPA have been making news for months now. The notorious liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s company owed Rs 9,000 crore, before he fled to the UK. However, in the larger pond of defaulter, he could be seen as a small fish at best. According to a report by Credit Suisse published in October 2015, the total amount of money owed to the state-owned banks alone was calculated to be Rs 3.04 lakh crore.
The Supreme Court ruling in December 2015 made it mandatory for all banks to reveal the names of the defaulters. So far, those banks have been hesitant, to say the least. The Reserve Bank of India hasn’t released the names of individual defaulters either, as per a report by Catch News.
The Credit Suisse report gives us an insight into the top ten defaulting companies, as of March 2015.
Reliance Group: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group operates in the power sector and the entertainment business. It also has business interests in insurance, wealth management and telecommunication sector. The Reliance-group owes the banks, Rs 1.25 lakh crore, the largest amount owed by any company, according to the report.
GVK Group: The GVK group in a large Indian conglomerate founded by Gunupati Venkata Krishna Reddy. The company has business interests in the energy sector, hospitality industry, infrastructure and life science. The total amount of money owed by the company is Rs 33,933 crore.
Videocon Group: One of the big names in India, it was famous for making television and now offers d2h services. Its founder and CEO Venugopal Dhoot also ventured into the telecommunication business. This group owes the banks about Rs 45,405 crore.
Lanco Group: Lagadapati Madhusudan Rao’s company is in the construction and power (solar and thermal) business. As per the report, he owes Rs 47,102 crore the banks.
GMR Group: This is the company that built the Delhi airport’s International Terminal T3 which cost around 12,850 crore. His company now owe Rs 47,976 crore to the banks.
JSW Group: The steel giant was founded by Sajjan Jindal who also the Chairman of the company. He is known to have organised a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif. His company, on the other hand, has a debt of Rs 58,171 crore on its balance sheet.
Jaypee Group: Run by Manoj Gaur, the company is said to have flourished well in Former Chief Minister Mayawati’s reign in Uttar Pradesh. His company has cost the banks Rs 75,163 crore.
Adani Group: Founded by Gautam Adani, the company does business in logistics, agribusiness and energy sectors, among other things. The founder is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, probably due to their shared origins in Gujarat. His company has defaulted on Rs 96,031 crore of the banks’ money.
Essar Group: Another giant with diverse business interest ranging from services to steel, the Essar Group was founded by brothers Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia. Rigged with controversy, the group balance sheet shows a debt worth Rs 1.01 lakh crore.
Vedanta Group: Headquartered in London, Anil Aggarwal’s The Vedanta group operates in the metals and mining sector. Second-largest defaulter on the list, Vedant group owes the banks nearly Rs 1.03 lakh crore.