NEW DELHI: State-run lender Punjab National Bank is expected to recover around Rs. 1,800 crore from its non-performing assets (NPAs) recovery mechanism -- "Mission Gandhigiri" -- which will soon complete one year of operation.
A senior bank official told IANS the mission, which was launched in May 2017, had consistently delivered positive results with an average recovery of Rs. 150 crore from the initiative.
"The mission was born out of the need to name and shame defaulters to increase societal pressure and urge them to pay back. "Mission Gandhigiri" has a dedicated recovery team across all circles of the bank," the official, who did not want to be named, told IANS.
Accordingly, the passive recovery mechanism entails the team members to "visit the borrowers' office or residence and sit their silently with placards that have hard-hitting messages such as 'It is public money, please repay the loans'."
On the legal side of the operation, following the government's directions regarding wilful defaulters, the bank has declared 1,084 wilful defaulters.
"Due to PNB's aggressive stance towards wilful defaulters, 150 passports have been impounded over the past few months," the official said. Additionally, over the last 9 months, the bank has also lodged 37 FIRs against defaulters.