Highlights of the bill for an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that was introduced in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday:
- Consolidates into a single law a host of legislations that deal with the subject;
- Aims to speedily adjudicate such cases for higher recovery of debt and money;
- Allows operational creditors like employees to also call for insolvency resolution;
- Proposes Insolvency Regulator to exercise regulatory oversight over insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and informational utilities;
- Moots two separate Insolvency Adjudicators -- one with jurisdiction over companies and the other over insolvency and bankruptcy resolution of individuals;
- Proposes to regulate insolvency professionals and insolvency professional agencies, under regulator's oversight;
- Proposes fast-tracking resolution of insolvency cases and improve recoveries of amount lent to companies within a timeline of 180 days, extendable by another 90 days;
- Proposes insolvency resolution process for individuals where the creditors and the debtor will engage in negotiations to arrive at an agreeable repayment plan of debts;
- Moots "Fresh Start" process for indigent individuals with income and assets lesser than specified thresholds; and
- Proposes insolvency information utilities which would collate, authenticate and disseminate financial information from listed companies and creditors of companies.
