2,313 Frauds Reported In Mudra Loan Scheme

Instances of fraud were reported in as many as 2,313 Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana accounts since the financial year 2016-17, the Parliament was informed on Monday. Over 19 crore loans have been extended under the scheme from the day of its launch till 21 June 2019.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "As per information compiled from public sector banks (PSBs), instances of alleged frauds reported during the last three years and the current year so far is in 2,313 accounts."

She also said that "examination/investigation" has been initiated on all of the reported cases and out of the 103 delinquent employees identified, action has been taken on 68 as per extant guidelines. It was further informed that the highest number of frauds were reported from Tamil Nadu (344), followed by Chandigarh (275) and Andhra Pradesh (241).

Sitharaman reported that the total non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of credit disbursed has shown a nominal increase from 2.52 percent (2017-18) to 2.68 percent in 2018-19 (provisional).

Furthermore, public-sector banks periodically monitor NPAs for recovery of overdue amounts and follow recovery procedures as per policies approved by their boards and in compliance of the Reserve Bank of India's extant guidelines.