Gross NPAs in steel sector at Rs 1.15 lakh crore: Govt

Total loan exposure of the industry is about Rs 3.13 lakh crore

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in the domestic steel sector, which accounts for 2% of India's GDP (gross domestic product), are around Rs 1.15 lakh crore, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Total loan exposure to India's over $100-billion steel industry, the world's third largest, is about Rs 3.13 lakh crore.

"The total exposure of steel industry is about Rs 3.13 lakh crore out of which Gross NPA is about Rs 1.15 lakh crore. This works out to 36.94% of the total loan outstanding as on March, 2016," Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

At the instance of the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently reduced overall policy rates that are expected to get translated into a reduction in actual lending rates, he added.

The RBI accorded a flexible refinancing repayment option, popularly known as 5:25 scheme for long-term infrastructure projects, including steel where total exposure of the bank is above Rs 500 crore, the Minister added.

The central bank has also brought in Strategic Debt Restructuring scheme to help debt-ridden companies including steel companies.

Further, in June 2016, the RBI brought in another scheme called Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets, also known as S4A scheme, with the same objective, Sai said.

The government has taken a slew of measures to give a boost to domestic steel players.

"They include an imposition of anti-dumping and safeguard duties on a range of steel products with an objective of eliminating/reducing low priced unfairly tread steel from countries such as China which negatively impacted the profitability of the domestic steel producers and simultaneous loss of market share," he said.

The government has initiated simultaneously wide-ranging investment plans in infrastructure which is expected to increase the demand for steel, Sai noted.