India's gold loans fastest-growing, RBI data: ₹4.6L/cr March 2026
Business
Gold loans have exploded in popularity, with banks lending ₹4.6 lakh crore against jewelry by March 2026, a massive leap from ₹93,301 crore just two years ago.
RBI data show this is 123% year-over-year growth, making gold loans the fastest-growing lending category in India right now.
Mixed lending: Housing up nearly 40%
While gold loans took off, other sectors had mixed results.
Housing loans for priority areas grew by nearly 40%, but consumer durable and export credit actually shrank.
Personal loans did see a healthy jump of over 16%, and credit to agriculture and services also rose steadily, with services growth supported by higher bank loans to NBFCs, trade and commercial real estate.
Overall, it's a pretty diverse picture across the lending space.