Top 10 Indebted Indian Corporates

Crony capitalism is a high risk but quick way to enrich oneself. But such promoter groups are bad news for unsophisticated investors.

Be well advised to avoid the shares and FDs of these groups.

1 The Reliance Group

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is in the business of power, insurance, wealth management, telecommunication infrastructure and entertainment. In March 2015, the company had a debt of Rs 1.25 lakh crore on its balance sheet. The amount is equivalent to the special package announced for Bihar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of state elections in August last year.

2 The Vedanta Group

Anil Agarwal’s company is the second-most indebted company. According to Credit Suisse, the company, which is into metals and mining, had a debt of Rs 1.03 lakh crore. This is equivalent to the amount raised by the Government of India in March 2015 through its biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum.

3 The Essar Group

Managed by the Ruia Brothers (Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia) the company, with operations in 25 countries, owes Rs 1.01 lakh crore.That’s what the Centre plans to spend on building smart cities until 2020.

4 The Adani Group

Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group of companies is known for his proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His business house owes Rs 96,031 crore to the banking system. The amount is a little less than the Budget for building the bullet train network between Mumbai and Ahmadabad proposed by the government .Early last year, the State Bank of India reportedly approved a loan of around $1 billion (Rs 6,600 crore ) for the company’s coal mine in Australia. However, after much hue and cry in the media due to the highly stressed balance sheet of the public sector bank, the approval was withdrawn.

5 The Jaypee Group

The Manoj Gaur-run Jaypee Group has a debt of Rs 75,163 crore on its balance sheet. Jaypee Group had a golden time during the Mayawati rule in Uttar Pradesh between 2007 and 2012.The debt is eight times the allocation for mid-day meals that feeds 12 crore school going children in the country.

6 The JSW Group

Sajjan Jindal is the chairman of JSW group and he was recently in headlines for reportedly organising the meeting between Pakistan Prime minister Nawaaz Sharif and Narendra Modi.Big connections allow you big credit lines. As per the Credit Suisse report, the group has a debt of Rs 58,171 crore. The amount is equivalent to the cost of 26 Rafale fighter aircrafts that India plans to buy from France.

7 The GMR Group

Named after its promoter GM Rao, the group is known for building Delhi’s T3 International Airport terminal.The group has a debt of Rs 47,976 crore on its balance sheet.

8 The Lanco Group

Headed By L Madhusudan Rao, the company runs solar and thermal power plants. It has a debt of Rs 47,102 crore.

9 The Videocon Group

Venugopal Dhoot’s company, the group once famous for making televisions, owes Rs 45,405 crore to banks. This amount can be used to 93 missions to Mars by India.

10 The GVK Group

Founded by GVK Reddy, the group has interests in energy, infrastructure and hospitality sectors. The company has a debt of Rs 33,933 crore. The amount is just a little less than government’s allocation under the MNREGA scheme (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) of Rs 34,000 crore in 2015.