IBBI removes sale of company as going concern in liquidation; now only asset sales allowed, shifting focus strictly to terminal liquidation process.
As much as 60 per cent of all resolution plans under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) were approved in the last three years alone, with over 30,000 cases having an underlying default of Rs 13.8 trillion getting settled even before admission, according to data till December 2024 released by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
Creditors took a haircut of around 67 per cent on their admitted claims on the realisation made till September 2025 under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the latest data released by the insolvency regulator showed.
The recent notification by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) allowing part-resolution of stressed assets of companies under the insolvency process has sent many resolution professionals (RPs) and committees of creditors (CoCs) back to the drawing board to reassess their strategies for resolving corporate insolvencies.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has lifted the restriction to allow the same insolvency professional for the resolution process of a company as well as its personal guarantor for a better harmonisation and effective coordination of both processes. The changes made to IBBI - Bankruptcy Process for Personal Guarantors to Corporate Debtors, Regulations, 2019 -- came into effect on January 31. IBBI has also amended the provision regarding the meetings of the Committee of Creditors to make them mandatory in insolvency matters about personal guarantors.
In what could result in a complete overhaul of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the insolvency regulator has sought public comments on the regulations it notified under the code to date. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has given a window of eight months ending December 31 to all stakeholders to share their views on its regulations. IBBI has called the exercise "crowdsourcing of ideas".
Five companies have submitted resolution plans for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), the flagship company of the beleaguered Jaypee group, the company has said in a stock exchange filing. The Adani group, Vedanta, Jindal Steel & Power, Dalmia Bharat, and PSP Projects are the final bidders and the offers range from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 11,000 crore, said a source close to the development.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the BPSL case exposes deep flaws in the IBC's institutional framework and raises concern about judicial overreach, notes Rajeswari Sengupta.
The dispute between Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) and edtech firm Byju's has escalated, with Aakash filing a sharply worded petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru, alleging conflict of interest and professional misconduct by global consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY), according to court filings
Former Resolution Professional of insolvency-bound edtech firm Byju's has moved appellate tribunal NCLAT challenging disciplinary action recommended against him by the Bengaluru bench of NCLT.
From almost 60 per cent as of December 2019, the share of liquidations in the mode of closure of total Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cases came down to 44 per cent till September 2023, data by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) shows. Experts say the decreasing trend in liquidations under the IBC in India can be largely attributed to the initial economic conditions of companies entering the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). IBC experts also say the trend shows a certain stabilisation in IBC with the Code now rid of legacy bankruptcy issues.
Eying benefits from digital banking, lenders are now looking at building Unified Recovery Interface (URI) for enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and getting good prices for properties of defaulters. This would be managed by PSB Alliance Ltd, a company set up by all public sector banks in the country. M V Rao, chairman, Indian Banks' Association (IBA), said: "Till now we had Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a product developed by National Payments Corporation Ltd (NPCI).
In a relief to homebuyers, assets in a real estate project that have been handed over to the allottee would be kept out of the liquidation process of the company, the latest amendment to the rules by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has said. The notification dated February 12 said: "For the purposes of clause (e) of sub-section (4) of section 36, wherever the corporate debtor has given possession to an allottee in a real estate project, such asset shall not form a part of the liquidation estate of the corporate debtor." Real estate experts call it a "pragmatic approach" by the regulator. "However, there are many cases where possession has not been given because the property is stuck in insolvency.
Larger firms feel that the smaller players have muddied the waters for the IBC process, leading to excessive regulation of resolution Professionals.
Experts say this further underlines the lack of investor interest in stressed assets at present.
The government is planning to draft rules for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to deal with Insolvency and Bankruptcy (IBC) cases, according to official sources. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is also looking to fill all vacant posts at various NCLT Benches by August and put in place an IT-enabled system that would use artificial intelligence (AI) for case management. The NCLT, adjudicating authority for matters related to company affairs, was constituted before the IBC came into effect.
Government may also consider giving relief to some of the worst-affected sectors.
Among manufacturing companies that went to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), chemicals and metal firms witnessed more resolutions while companies in the labour intensive (employment friendly) leather and textile sectors mostly get liquidated, reports Abhishek Waghmare.
Sebi has restructured its advisory committee on market data that recommends policy measures pertaining to areas like securities market data access and privacy. Rejigging its market data advisory committee, Sebi has said the panel will now have 21 members, as per the latest information with the regulator. Earlier the committee had 20 members. The committee is chaired by M S Sahoo, Professor at National Law University, Delhi and former chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
The Delhi high court on Thursday put on hold the insolvency resolution process (IRP) proceedings against Reliance Communications (RCom) chairman Anil Ambani in relation to the recovery of Rs 1,200 crore loans given by SBI to his two firms. Ambani had given personal guarantees for the Rs 565 crore and Rs 635 crore SBI loans to RCom and Reliance Infratel Ltd (RITL), respectively, in August 2016.
The total admitted claim of financial creditors of these 88 companies stood at Rs 1.3 trillion, of which they recovered Rs 65,635 crore.
Of the Rs 4,405 crore unpaid debt of 12 companies, more than half was locked in just one Mumbai-based real estate company, Kohinoor CTNL Infrastructure.
Bankers say debt resolution bills are coming high as resolution professionals are giving the human resources and audit/legal consulting to outside firms to plug all the loopholes.
The first of a two-part series explores how the proceedings under the IBC have taken off and whether the code is helping banks recover their unpaid loans
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the resolution plan of Twin Star Technologies -- a promoter entity of the Vedanta Resources group -- for the Videocon group. But it has pointed out that the successful resolution applicant is "paying almost nothing" as the amount offered is only 4.15 per cent of total outstanding claim. It noted the hair cut for all the creditors is 95.85 per cent and suggested to both committee of creditors (CoC) and the successful applicant an increase in the payout.
Around 241 companies were sent for liquidation under the IBC by various NCLT benches and in only 58 cases have the resolution plans been accepted
In a move to plug gaps in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has proposed robust norms against avoidance transactions, wrongful trading, and inordinate delays via changes to look-back period and fixed timelines for the tribunals to reject or approve plans, among other measures. The MCA has proposed that the IBC should provide the adjudicating authority with 30 days for approving or rejecting a resolution plan under Section 31. If a decision is not made on the resolution plan within that period, the adjudicating authority will record reasons in writing for the same, the ministry has proposed.
Delhi-based Nilesh Sharma, among the first IPs, said while the framework is in the initial stage and might have teething trouble, the opportunity is immense in the long run.
The meeting will review the current global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues, including those concerning banking and NBFCs.
Experts say that under the liquidation process, financial and operational creditors are less likely to recover the full-value of their dues, while employees may not get their full salaries.
They play a key role in managing rescue and liquidation processes envisaged under the Code
The Delhi high court on Monday sought the Centre and SBI's reply to former RCom chairman Anil Ambani's plea to include the Chinese banks, which have got a decree of $717 million against him from a court in United Kingdom, in the proceedings related to recovery of Rs 1200 crore loan granted to two of his companies. The high court also said that the moratorium on recoveries from sale of Ambani's assets, as provided under section 96 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), would remain in operation for now. This direction came on the application moved by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking a declaration that the moratorium shall continue to be in effect.
Insolvency professionals feel the bankruptcy code will deter defaulters, but NPAs will not cease unless banks are sensitised on credit appraisal and experts are hired by banks to inspect what is happening with their loans.
A two-member bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said there is no stay on the Resolution Professional of Essar Steel to disburse the funds among financial and operational creditors of the company.
The brand new bankruptcy process is being brazenly gamed by those with connections and money. The touts and fixers of the previous regime have been replaced by a new set close to this one, observes Debashis Basu.
Some experts says that the high net-worth requirement of Rs 50 crore for setting up an IU is a deterrent.
India's debt recovery and restructuring framework is still a work in progress, even six months after the President's assent to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
The 21st meeting of FSDC comes against the backdrop of the economy hitting a six-year low growth rate of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20. Even some of the macroeconomic data for the second quarter does not portray an encouraging picture of the economy.
Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas said the issue is how the interests of stakeholders are to be balanced