Sick units owe banks Rs 30,000 crore

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) Commercial banks in the country have outstanding loans worth nearly Rs 30,000 crore from sick industrial units, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said.

The amount outstanding in the books of scheduled banks in respect of sick industrial units other than in small scale industries sector as on March 2003 was Rs 29,109.89 crore, Mr Chidambaram told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The outstanding loans in respect of sick industrial units in the small scale sector as on March 2005 was Rs 5,380.13 crore, he said.

A debt restructuring mechanism and a one-time settlement scheme for small and medium enterprises are being created as part of the efforts to step up credit to small and medium enterprises, he said.

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