[ ::: ♥Keep_Mailing♥ ::: ]™ TOP 10 INDEBTED COMPANIES IN INDIA

THIS IS INDIA

Here's a financial tip no one gives you. If you owe money to the

banks, make sure the amount is huge. Then you won't need to worry

about paying it back on time. Or, indeed, in some cases, paying it

back at all.

This is not a joke. Several top business houses in India owe banks

astronomical amounts and have defaulted in repayment. But instead of

facing pressure to pay back these loans, companies are routinely given

sweet deals: either their loans are 'restructured' in a way that

allows a moratorium on interest payments, or their repayment schedule

is extended generously.

In December 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that under RTI, and in the

interest of transparency, banks must reveal the names of companies who

default. Until now, banks have refused to share this information

easily.

In absolute terms, the gross non-performing assets - loans not repaid

by borrowers - owed just to state-owned banks was reported at Rs 3.04

lakh crore. That's four times the entire budget for education in

India. A large part of these loans will never be repaid by the

companies.

Compare this with the farm loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore given by the

government in 2009 that faced huge criticism from free market

economists who start beating their chests at the mention of subsidy to

the poor in the country.

The Reserve Bank of India so far has not released the details of

individual borrowers who have defaulted on repayment of their loans.

In the absence of this, here is a list of the 10 most indebted

companies of India, reported by Credit Suisse in its October 2015

report. The debt shown on their balance sheets was till March 2015.

One expects that debt on these 10 companies comprise a major chunk of

the non-performing assets of the banks. Though it is unclear how much

is the exact amount of non-performing assets against each company,

however, just their outstandings make for staggering reading.

01 - THE RELIANCE GROUP

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is in the business of power,

insurance, wealth management, telecommunication infrastructure and

entertainment. In March 2015, the company had a debt of Rs 1.25 lakh

crore on its balance sheet.

The amount is equivalent to the special package announced for Bihar by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of state elections in August this

year.

02 - THE VEDANTA GROUP

Anil Agarwal's company is the second-most indebted company. According

to Credit Suisse, the company, which is into metals and mining, had a

debt of Rs 1.03 lakh crore.

This is equivalent to the amount raised by the Government of India in

March 2015 through it's biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum.

03 - ESSAR GROUP

Managed by the Ruia Brothers (Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia) the company,

with operations in 25 countries, owes Rs 1.01 lakh crore.

That's what the Centre plans to spend on building smart cities until 2020.

04 - ADANI GROUP

Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group of companies is known

for his proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His business

house owes Rs 96,031 crore to the banking system. The amount is a

little less than the Budget for building the bullet train network

between Mumbai and Ahmadabad proposed by the government.

Earlier this year, the State Bank of India reportedly approved a loan

of around $1 billion (Rs.6,600 Crore) for the company's coal mine in

Australia. However, after much hue and cry in the media due to the

highly stressed balance sheet of the public sector bank, the approval

was withdrawn.

05 - JAYPEE GROUP

Manoj Gaur-run Jaypee Group has a debt of Rs 75,163 crore on its

balance sheet. Jaypee Group had a golden time during the Mayawati rule

in Uttar Pradesh between 2007 and 2012.

The debt is eight times the allocation for mid-day meals in 2015 that

feeds 12 crore school going children in the country.

06 - JSW GROUP

Sajjan Jindal is the chairman of JSW group and he was recently in

headlines for reportedly organizing the meeting between Pakistan Prime

minister Nawaaz Sharif and Narendra Modi.

Big connections allow you big credit lines. As per the Credit Suisse

report, the group has a debt of Rs.58,171 crore. The amount is

equivalent to the cost of 26 Rafale fighter aircrafts that India plans

to buy from France.

07 - GMR GROUP

Named after its promoter G M Rao, the group is known for building

Delhi's T3 International Airport terminal.

The group has a debt of Rs 47,976 crore on its balance sheet. The

amount can be used to build to coal-based power plants with a

generation capacity of 4,000 MW each - enough to provide electricity

to the state of Haryana during peak summers.

08 - LANCO GROUP

Headed by L Madhusudan Rao, the company runs solar and thermal power

plants. It has a debt of Rs 47,102 crore.

09 - VIDEOCON GROUP

Venugopal Dhoot's company, the group once famous for making

televisions, owes Rs 45,405 crore to banks. This amount can be used to

93 missions to Mars by India.

10 - GVK GROUP

Founded by GVK Reddy, the group has interests in energy,

infrastructure and hospitality sectors. The company has a debt of

Rs.33,933 crore. The amount is just a little less than government's

allocation under the MNREGA scheme (National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act) of Rs.34,000 crore in 2015.

Darryl D'Monte

Chairperson, Forum of Environmental Journalists of India (FEJI)

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