Document title: Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit – August 2026
Issuing authority: Reserve Bank of India
Reference number: Press Release 2026-2027/1219
Date: 30 September 2026
Macroeconomic Outlook
The RBI's data show that non‑food bank credit expanded 18.8% year‑on‑year as of the fortnight ended 31 August 2026, compared with 10.2% in the same period of the previous year. This acceleration reflects broader credit expansion across key sectors.
Banking and Credit
Credit to agriculture and allied activities increased 17.2% YoY, up from 7.6% a year earlier.
Industry credit grew 18.2% YoY versus 7.0% previously, with large and medium enterprises accelerating while micro‑small firms maintained steady growth. Notable industry segments with buoyant growth include infrastructure, all engineering, basic metal and metal products, chemical and chemical products, food processing, textiles, construction, and petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels.
The services sector saw a 24.3% YoY rise in credit, markedly higher than the 10.3% growth in the prior year, driven by robust lending to non‑banking financial companies, trade, professional services and commercial real estate.
Personal loans credit expanded 16.9% YoY, above the 11.9% growth a year ago. Housing and vehicle loans recorded double‑digit increases, whereas credit‑card outstanding and loans against gold jewellery showed a slowdown.
The data are compiled from 41 selected scheduled commercial banks representing about 95% of total non‑food credit. Since 31 December 2025, the definition of the last reporting fortnight has been changed to the last day of the month under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act 2025; consequently, YoY growth rates from December 2025 onward are based on end‑of‑month data for the current year and the previous‑year last‑reporting‑fortnight data. Non‑food credit figures are derived from the Section‑42 return covering all scheduled commercial banks.
Overall, the August 2026 credit deployment indicates a pronounced acceleration in bank lending across agriculture, industry, services and personal loan segments, underscoring strengthening credit demand and sectoral expansion.