Unto the breach
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which was enacted in May 2016, is a critical link in a chain of steps initiated since 1991 to transition India to a market economy. The first set of reforms lowered entry barriers and thereby expanded sectors such as aviation. The early reforms however didn’t provide for exit options. This led to enormous misallocation of resources and lost opportunities as zombie firms took up scarce resources. IBC is the best possible solution. On Wednesday, the Cabinet approved eight amendments to IBC aiming to safeguard the Code’s underlying spirit. A key aim of the Code is to induce behavioural change, particularly among promoters. Continued ownership following default of debt obligations is no longer guaranteed. One consequence of this aim is a spate of litigations. Insolvency likely has the single largest body of case laws. Some judicial interpretations seem to create doubt rather than clarify. In others, interpretation appears to ...