Bank Lending in India Analyzed

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently shared information about how banks are lending money in India. This report looked at the lending activity of 41 big banks in November 2025. These banks make up about 95% of all lending outside of food-related businesses.

Key Points

• Bank credit grew 11.4% year-on-year as of November 28, 2025.
• Agriculture lending increased by 8.7% compared to the prior year.
• Industry lending grew 9.6% compared to 8.3% last year.
• Micro, Small, and Medium Industries continued strong, double-digit growth.
• Infrastructure, engineering, textiles, and fuel industries showed growth.
• Services expanded at 11.7%, with NBFCs and software sectors improving.

Overall Lending Trends

Overall, banks are lending more money than they were a year ago. The growth rate is currently 11.4% – that’s a good sign for the economy. This is an increase from 10.6% the previous year.

Specific Lending Areas

Let’s look at where the money is going. Lending to farmers and those involved in agriculture grew by 8.7% – a significant jump from 15.3% the year before. This shows the government’s efforts to support the agricultural sector are having an impact.

Industry is also seeing a boost, with credit growing by 9.6% compared to 8.3% in the last year. Smaller businesses, known as Micro and Small Industries, are growing even faster with double-digit increases. This indicates a healthy level of activity within these sectors.

Many important industries, like building infrastructure, manufacturing, textiles, and the production of fuel, are also borrowing more money.

Services and Other Sectors

The services sector, which includes things like healthcare and education, is expanding too. Credit to this sector grew by 11.7% – up from 12.8% last year. Companies like those providing computer software are also receiving more funding.

Some sectors, like trading and real estate, are still growing, but not as quickly. Personal loans, especially for cars and gold jewelry, are also on the rise.

However, lending to homes and credit cards is slowing down a little bit. This is a normal part of economic growth as things become more balanced.

Investing in a diversified economy is key to sustainable long-term growth.