Outstanding gold loans have surged over last three years, says Union Minister of State for Finance

Outstanding gold loans extended by banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in India have surged over the last three years, said Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday.Replying to a question by Cuddalore Member of Parliament M.K. Vishnu Prasad in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Chaudhary said that combined gold loan advances outstanding at Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and NBFCs rose from about ₹7.46 lakh crore as of March 31, 2023 to roughly ₹18.29 lakh crore as of March 31, 2026.Gold loans outstanding at SCBs alone climbed from ₹6,15,341 crore in March 2023 to ₹14,63,118 crore in March 2026. Of this, Public Sector Banks accounted for ₹11,30,940 crore, followed by Private Sector Banks with ₹3,06,111 crore and Small Finance Banks with ₹18,356 crore.The Middle and Up