PSBs, probably to fulfil the additional social objective of their mandate, had taken higher exposure in some of the critical sectors of the economy such as mining, iron and steel, and infrastructure.
NPA levels in these sectors shot up as all these sectors suffered external shocks leading to the respective stress – mining and energy was hit by the cancellation of allocation of coal blocks; iron and steel sector faced cost pressures due to dumping of cheaper steel from China; telecommunications sector underwent a disruption in the form of cancellation of 2G spectrum allotment; and the construction sector was marred by delays in obtaining necessary government approvals, in particular environmental clearances.