Scheduled commercial banks’ non-food credit outstanding rose to ₹212.9 lakh crore at the end of FY26, with services, personal loans, agriculture and industrial lending all reporting stronger growth than a year earlier.

Scheduled commercial banks recorded robust non-food credit growth of 15.9% in FY26, up from 10.9% a year earlier, indicating stronger credit demand across sectors amid resilient domestic economic activity, according to data released by the finance ministry.

Aggregate credit outstanding stood at ₹212.9 lakh crore as of March 2026, rising ₹29.2 lakh crore from the previous year. The ministry said the acceleration came amid a low-interest rate environment, government-aided capex cycle, structural reforms and improving confidence among corporate as well as individual borrowers.

Credit growth was broad-based in FY26, led by services, followed by personal loans, agriculture and allied activities, and industry.

Industrial credit nearly doubles pace

Credit deployment to the industrial sector expanded 15% in FY26, compared with 8.2% growth in the previous year. The sharpest growth came from the MSME segment, with credit to micro and small industries rising 33.1% year-on-year. Lending to medium-scale industries grew 21.7%.

The ministry said key drivers of industrial credit included infrastructure, basic metals and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels.

Services and personal loans remain strong

Services sector credit, which accounts for 28% of overall credit, grew 19% in FY26, compared with 12% a year earlier. The rise was driven by demand from non-banking financial companies, trade and commercial real estate.

Personal loans, which make up 33% of overall credit, grew 16.2%, against 11.7% in FY25. Growth remained steady in housing loans, while vehicle loans and loans against gold jewellery continued to show strong momentum.

Agriculture lending gains pace

Credit to agriculture and allied activities accelerated to 15.7% in FY26 from 10.4% a year earlier, reflecting sustained rural demand and improved formal credit flow to the farm sector.

The finance ministry release showed faster credit growth across all four major segments — agriculture, industry, services and personal loans — in FY26 compared with FY25.

The ministry said the trend reflected a resilient domestic economy and stronger appetite for credit across sectors. It added that the banking sector remained well capitalised, with historically low impaired assets and sustained profitability, supporting credit expansion despite global economic uncertainty.