Rise in bank credit to infrastructure sectors

Total gross non-food credit of scheduled commercial banks was provisionally assessed at Rs.51,012 billion on August 23, 2013, rising 4.8 per cent since March last, three times the pace in the corresponding period of 2012-13, according to data compiled by RBI from 47 select scheduled commercial banks which account for about 95 per cent of total non-food credit deployed by all scheduled commercial banks.

August seems to have seen a marked pick-up in bank credit, which saw the rate step up from 2.5 per cent till June-July to 4.8 per cent by the end of August. Agriculture, industry and services, including commercial real estate and personal loans, shared the rise, even as bulk of the increase in infrastructure loans happened in July.

Micro, small, medium & large industries got 4.5 per cent more (2.5 per cent), services 4.9 per cent (0.1 per cent), and agriculture and allied industries 3.4 per cent (decline of 0.8 per cent) during April-August. Bank loans to wholesale and retail trade were up 3.1 per cent (2.7 per cent) and those to commercial real estate sector 7.9 per cent (2.8 per cent). Personal loans grew 6.2 per cent, twice the year-ago rate. Housing loans expanded 8.2 per cent (4.2 per cent) and vehicle loans 5.7 per cent (7.4 per cent). Priority sectors like agriculture, housing and export credit increased 6 per cent (decline of 1.5 per cent).

Bank credit to infrastructure sectors, which include power, telecom, roads etc., increased 7.5 per cent, twice the rate in the corresponding five months of fiscal 2013. Lending to power companies increased by 8.9 per cent (8.4 per cent) to Rs.4,531 billion; loans for roads went up by 10.1 per cent (8.8 per cent) and loans to telecom companies increased 3.2 per cent, against 5.9 per cent reduction during April-August 2012.

Among the other industries, loans to basic metal and metal products expanded 4.8 per cent (3.9 per cent), food processing 3.5 per cent (decline of 2.2 per cent) and engineering industries 6.1 per cent (4.8 per cent). Bank credit to chemicals and chemical products declined 0.7 per cent (decline of 2.6 per cent). Bank loans to textiles continued to increase nominally.