Warangal/Karimnagar: Muted salary growth, rising aspirations, higher costs, and financial mismanagement have become a deadly cocktail for the middle class people, especially salaried class, which is getting them sucked into a vortex of indebtedness. According to RBI, nearly a third of credit card users across India have either defaulted or made delayed payments in 2024. The surge in indebtedness is primarily driven by people’s indiscriminate use of credit cards, which banks had issued easily to grow their business. If people go short of their bank balance, credit cards would be the first resort for purchases, whether they are essential or aspirational. This is the trend being noticed across India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities.Bhaskar, who works in a shopping mall in Hanamkonda and recently got married, said his monthly income of Rs 15,000 used to be enough for him before marriage. “But after the marriage, my expenses increased. One of my friends suggested taking a credit card. I did. And within no time, I was issued five credit cards from different banks,” he said.Lured by high discounts, he used credit cards for online shopping – to purchase phones, TV, petroland even cash withdrawals – taking him deeper into debt, amounting to Rs 4 lakh. “With my current salary of just Rs 15,000, it has become difficult to clear the bills and debts. I’m stuck with these credit cards and don’t know how to solve this problem,” he added.Rama Krishna, a photographer from Karimnagar district, earning around Rs 25,000 a month, has three credit cards, which he has been using for the last three years. As his business is seasonal, he uses credit cards to cope with his financial requirements.“To pay the bill on one credit card, I used to withdraw money from the other card, and then the other one. In doing so, I spent beyond my earnings. Now, I have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to three credit cards,” he said. Kiran Kumar, a government teacher, is in debt of Rs 6 lakh, which was accumulated through the indiscriminate use of credit cards. Private agents hired by banks, he said, are harassing him to clear the pending bills.“They came to my house and created a huge scene. I asked them to give me some time to clear thebills. But without listening to me, they threatened to seize the household materials if I did not pay,” hesaid. A case was registered in the Hanamkonda police station recently about credit card fraud. The accused, identified as Nerella Arun, a resident of Medipally village of Jammikunta mandal, cheated around 20 members, including police, government employees and media persons of Rs 50 lakh.Arun gained trust by offering quick cash through credit card transfers and promising that he would improve credit scores.
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