Around Rs. 1,200 crore in dues owed by Vijay Mallya's collapsed Kingfisher Airlines has been labelled a 'write-off' in the books of India's largest bank, the State Bank of India.

The bank said the Kingfisher loan has been moved, along with other bad loans, to a category called AUCA or "Advance Under Collection Accounts", which allows them to take the bad debt off their books while keeping alive the option of pursuing its recovery.

Confronting an opposition attack in parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that the loans had not been waived.

"It only means that in accounting books, it is listed as a non-performing asset. A write off doesn't mean forgiving loans. The loan will still be pursued," Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha.

Debating the stress caused to the public by the sudden ban on Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, Left lawmaker Sitaram Yechury had questioned the SBI write-off to Mr Mallya while the government claims to crack down on black or untaxed money.

In effect, Mr Yechury said, "it is something that is not going to be realized."