Nearly 3% of Mudra loans turn into bad loans: Govt
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said close to 3 per cent of Rs 6.04 lakh crore worth of loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has turned into bad loans.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PMMY on April 8, 2015, for providing collateral free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises with a view to generating employment, and providing access to easy finance to small enterprises.
In a written reply to a question on the PMMY in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur also said any complaint received in respect of implementation of the PMMY, including turning down of loan applications, delay in turn-around-time (TAT) and lenders' insisting on collateral/guarantor on certain occasions, are redressed in coordination with the respective banks.
"Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have reported that as of March 2019, against a total amount of Rs 6.04 lakh crore disbursed by them under PMMY since inception of the scheme, an amount of Rs 17,251.52 crore had turned into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), which is 2.86 per cent of the total disbursed amount," the minister said.
Loans are classified as MUDRA under the PMMY. The loans are given under three categories of Shishu, Kishore and Tarun to signify the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary.
Replying to another question, the minister said during the last five financial years, the total number of branches of public sector banks (PSBs) increased to 87,580 at end-March 2019 from 78,939 as of March 2014 .
The minister also informed the House that PSBs wrote off Rs 47,658 crore, Rs 56,847 crore, Rs 79,048 crore, Rs 1,24,275 crore and Rs 1,86,632 crore during financial years 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively, according to the RBI data.
Of these, write-offs in loans pertaining to 'agriculture and allied activities' were Rs 2,833 crore, Rs 6,361 crore, Rs 7,091 crore, Rs 10,345 crore and Rs 12,556 crore in those financial years respectively.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
