SRINAGAR: Outstanding credit card dues with scheduled commercial banks in India have climbed sharply to Rs 2.95 lakh crore by March 31, 2025, while bad loans and write-offs linked to credit card lending have also increased over the past three years, according to data shared in the Rajya Sabha.
In a written reply to a question by Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary said that credit card advances outstanding with banks rose steadily from Rs 2,10,400 crore in 2023 to Rs 2,64,691 crore in 2024 and further to Rs 2,95,084 crore by March 2025.
The data also show a simultaneous increase in stress within the segment. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in credit card loans rose from Rs 4,072 crore in 2023 to Rs 4,870 crore in 2024 and Rs 6,778 crore in 2025.
Write-offs by banks in the credit card portfolio also expanded during the same period. Banks wrote off Rs 8,208 crore in 2023, which increased to Rs 10,733 crore in 2024 and further to Rs 15,674 crore in 2025.
Actual recoveries from such written-off accounts remained relatively modest. Banks recovered Rs 1,513 crore in 2023, Rs 1,560 crore in 2024, and Rs 1,968 crore in 2025, the government said.
The government clarified that the write-offs carried out by banks are technical or prudential in nature, and lenders remain empowered to continue recovery efforts in such accounts.
The Finance Ministry also said that the Reserve Bank of India does not maintain ecosystem-level data on total unpaid credit card dues or the share of customers who roll over balances instead of paying their bills in full.
The figures nevertheless indicate the rapid expansion of credit card lending in India alongside a rise in delinquencies and write-offs in the segment.
