RBI announced data on sectoral deployment of bank credit collected from select 41 scheduled commercial banks, accounting for about 90% of the total non-food credit deployed by all scheduled commercial banks, for the month of December 2018. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, non-food bank credit increased by 12.8% in December 2018 as compared with an increase of 10% in December 2017.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities expanded by 8.4% in December 2018 as compared with an increase of 9.5% in December 2017. Credit to industry rose by 4.4% in December 2018 as compared with an increase of 2.1% in December 2017. Credit growth to ‘infrastructure’, ‘chemical and chemical products’, ‘all engineering’, ‘vehicles’ and ‘petroleum, coal products & nuclear fuels’ accelerated. However, credit growth to ‘basic metal & metal product’, ‘textiles’, ‘food processing’ and ‘gems & jewellery’ decelerated/contracted.

Credit to the services sector accelerated to 23.2% in December 2018 from 14.7% in December 2017. Personal loans increased by 17% in December 2018 as compared with an increase of 18.9% in December 2017.