Long Road Ahead

In stark contrast to fraud-hit Satyam, a solution for the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) case will take some months. There are a staggering 348 entities under the IL&FS umbrella - a three-tier structure of a holding company, subsidiaries, and hundreds of Special Purpose Vehicles.

The total loan staring at a default comes to Rs 91,000 crore and there's no resolution in sight even four months after the government took control. Unloading assets is difficult, as bidders simply aren't offering good prices. There are concerns about presenting a true and fair picture of the group's assets and liabilities.

And, now, the government is trying a more clinical approach dividing assets based on their ability to meet payment obligations. This valuation or pricing will be critical to the eventual solution. But that still is some months away.