Individual borrowers to be brought under Insolvency code

Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas on Wednesday noted that individual borrowers would be brought under the ambit of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) in due time.

Speaking to media here along the sidelines of a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here, Srinivas said any amendments made to the code would be prospective in nature.

"A number of changes have been suggested to the insolvency law. However, in case amendments are implemented, they would be prospective in nature. However, revised bids which are submitted under the insolvency resolution process after the amendments are in force will have to follow the new requirements. Individual borrowers will be included in the IBC in the near future in phases," he said.

Highlighting 12 specific cases pending for resolution, Srinivas claimed that out of the Rs.9 crore involved in these cases, at least Rs.4 crore is being pupmped back into the system.

"The IBC has managed to smoothly replace the old fragmented resolution system. We don't want the resolution time limit to be breached. Competition is seen in the big 12 cases undergoing resolution. Once these are resolved, insolvency process will gather pace. Out of Rs.9 crore involved, we are looking to bring back atleast Rs.4 crore into the system," he said.

Talking about the volume of non-performing assets (NPA) in the economy, Srinivas stated that it is critical to tackle the matter in order to keep the economy robust.

"As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Rs.9.5 lakh crore is locked up in NPAs along with 15 percent of public sector bank exposure. It is critical to arrest these trends for the sake of the economy," said Srinivas.