Non-Food Bank Credit Growth Jumps to 15.8% in April 2026; Services, Industry Lead Expansion: RBI

New Delhi, [India] May 30 (ANI): Non-food bank credit growth accelerated to 15.8 per cent year-on-year in the fortnight ended April 30, 2026, compared with 9.8 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The data on sectoral deployment of bank credit for April 2026, collected from 41 select scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) accounting for about 95 per cent of total non-food credit by all SCBs, showed broad-based growth across key segments.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities registered a year-on-year growth of 13.7 per cent as on the fortnight ended April 30, 2026, against 9.2 per cent in the corresponding fortnight last year, the RBI said.

Credit to industry recorded a y-o-y growth of 15.1 per cent, sharply higher than 7.0 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year. "While credit to 'Micro and Small' and 'Large' industries grew at an accelerated pace, 'Medium' industries exhibited steady growth on y-o-y basis," the central bank noted.

Among major industries, outstanding credit to 'infrastructure', 'basic metal and metal product', 'all engineering', 'petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels', and 'chemical and chemical products' marked higher y-o-y growth. However, the RBI said 'construction', 'textiles' and 'rubber, plastic and their products' segments witnessed marginally subdued credit growth.

The services sector led the expansion, with credit growth at 18.6 per cent y-o-y as on April 30, 2026, compared with 10.1 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year. The growth was supported by robust performance in segments such as 'non-banking financial companies' (NBFCs), 'commercial real estate', 'trade' and 'professional services', the RBI said.

Credit to the personal loans segment also maintained strong momentum, recording a y-o-y growth of 16.0 per cent, as compared with 11.9 per cent a year ago. "While segments such as 'vehicle loans' and 'housing' sustained robust credit growth, 'credit card outstanding' moderated," the central bank added.

The RBI said the data are set out in Statements I and II of its release. The sustained double-digit growth across agriculture, industry, services and personal loans points to improving credit demand in the economy, even as some pockets like construction and textiles saw relatively softer offtake. (ANI)

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