Letter to BS: Time for govt to create a sound institutional model for IL&FS

This is a systemic and governance failure and also implies a lack of regulatory oversight

The government’s takeover of the management and appointment of a new board of directors for Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) is timely and may hopefully halt further damage. The crisis did not raise its head all of a sudden — it has been brewing over a few years. It could have been avoided had the board, the senior management, the auditors, the rating agency and the regulatory authorities played their roles diligently. The IL&FS group as a whole has a consolidated debt of little over Rs900 billion. The Centre should also have a look at the clearances and payments