Top 30 loan defaulters of the public sector banks account for one-third of the total gross non-performing assets of state-run lenders, according to the Reserve Bank data. 

The gross non-performing assets (GNPA) amount of top 30 accounts of public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 63,671 crore at the end of June 2013. 

The total GNPA outstanding of 26 PSBs was Rs 1,82,829 crore. Thus the top 30 accounted for 34.83 per cent of total gross bad loans. 

In case of nationalised banks, top 30 defaulters contributed 43.5 per cent to the GNPA with Rs 48,406 crore. The combined GNPA of 19 nationalised stood at Rs 1,11,209 crore. 

The GNPAs of SBI Group, comprising SBI and its five associates, were worth Rs 71,620 crore at the end of first quarter of the current fiscal. 

Top 30 loan defaulters of SBI group had a loan outstanding of Rs 15,266 crore or 21.3 per cent of the total loan. 

Punjab & Sind Bank tops the chart with 62.53 per cent of GNPA is contributed by top 30 loan defaulters. 

Punjab & Sind Bank is followed by State Bank of Hyderabad with 57.50 per cent, Vijaya Bank with 53.64 per cent and Corporation Bank with 53.40 per cent. 

Top 30 loan defaulters had a share of Rs 53.06 per cent of the GNPA of Uco Bank, 52.68 per cent in Indian Bank 52.15 per cent share Andhra Bank at the end of June, 2013. 

Last month, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the government is monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in each PSU bank and asked the lenders to set up separate verticals to recover money. 

"We are monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in each bank, each zone. It is a matter of concern that it is the big borrowers (with loans of over Rs 1 crore) who are defaulting," Chidambaram had said. 

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan had last week sent out a clear message that willful defaulters would be dealt with strongly. 

Asserting that the Finance Ministry and the RBI were on the same page when it came to recovery, he had stated that "this is not being said to create an atmosphere of fear or to be vindictive". 

He promised that the central bank will soon take some nuanced measures to get stressed assets back on track. (PTI/Economic Times)