As consumers drown under debt, is it time for India to allow individuals to go bankrupt?

A worrisome pattern observed is how Indians are serving their older loans by opting for new loans. RBI had also cautioned against such stress from the consumer credit segment spilling over to secured loans after its assessment showed nearly half the borrowers availing credit card and personal loans had another live mortgage or vehicle loan. «Given that a default in any loan category results in other loans of the same borrower being treated as non-performing by the lending financial institution, these larger and secured loans are at risk of delinquency from slippages in relatively smaller personal loans,» the regulator noted in the December 2024 edition of the bi-annual Financial Stability Report.

Data showed that 11% borrowers originating a personal loan under ₹50,000 had an overdue personal loan and over 60% had availed of more than three loans during the current financial year.

To control the problem, which is on the cusp of turning into a huge crisis, the government could probably try giving a fresh start to the borrowers. A report of Dvara Research regarding India's debt problem had said that lack of bankruptcy regime for the borrowers only offers partial relief, with the crucial need to remove such blanket ban of relief. Bloomberg Columnist Andy Mukherjee made a similar point by saying that with overborrowing occurring, it might be time to let some institutions fail. «Where the government needs to get involved is in allowing borrowers to shed unsustainable debt in an orderly fashion. The mechanism for that exists in India’s bankruptcy code; it’s yet to be implemented for individuals other than guarantors for corporate loans,» said Mukherjee.

Why should Indians be allowed to go bankrupt?

While policy experts