Two years after the RBI identified the first lot of 12 large corporate defaulters and took them to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the government and the central bank had come up with many amendments and additions to ease the resolution process. But these changes are not helping resolve cases within the 270 days stipulated under IBC. Of the 12 big cases, just three companies - Bhushan Steel, Monnet Ispat and Electrosteel Steels - have been sold so far and the court ordered liquidation of Lanco Infratech and ABG Shipyard. The rest, including Essar Steel, Bhushan Power, Jaypee Infratech and Alok Industries, are pending resolution.
Of the 1,858 bankrupt companies admitted, 152 were sold till March-end. Liquidation has started in 378 cases. There are 1,143 cases pending for resolution. According to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, the IBC allowed resolution time of 270 days are over in 362 cases and 186 cases had crossed initial deadline of 180 days. There are lengthy legal proceedings due to complications in defining the law. The lack of sufficient resources in terms of insolvency professionals, judicial benches and technical experts at NCLT are other issues.