India

A top executive of troubled Indian tech firm Byju’s and an ally of the company’s founder were found in contempt of court and now face financial sanctions of $25,000 a day for refusing to comply with a U.S. court order, a judge ruled yesterday. Byju’s manager Vinay Ravindra and company ally Rajendran Vellapalath failed to answer questions about their roles in stripping software, cash and other assets from Byju’s U.S. businesses that are under court supervision, a federal judge in Delaware found.

The Reserve Bank on Thursday said that it has filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal, New Delhi bench, for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against Aviom India Housing Finance Private Limited, the Economic Times of India reported. On Monday, the RBI superseded the board of Aviom India Housing Finance owing to governance concerns and defaults in meeting various payment obligations. The Reserve Bank has appointed Ram Kumar, ex-CGM of Punjab National Bank, as the Administrator of the New Delhi-based company.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday inducted Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance onto the committee of creditors (CoC) of edtech firm Byjus’ parent, by setting aside the reconstitution of the panel carried out by the company’s interim resolution professional on August 31, the Economic Times of India reported. “The committee of creditors constituted on 21st August 2024 is upheld and shall remain in effect,” the Bengaluru bench of the tribunal said in an order that came on a petition filed by the two financial creditors.

A diverse group of companies including Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, JSW Infrastructure, Horizon Industrial Parks and Transindia Real Estate Ltd have shown interest in acquiring listed supply chain and logistics infrastructure firm Arshiya Ltd, which is undergoing a corporate insolvency resolution process, the Economic Times of India reported. Investors such as Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd, Dickey Alternative Investment Trust and Finquest Financial Solutions Pvt Ltd have also evinced interest in the company, said a person aware of the development.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday set aside a plea against HUL, filed by an operational creditor seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against the FMCG major, the Economic Times of India reported. The appellate tribunal has upheld an order passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which on September 5, 2024 had set aside a plea filed under Section 9 of IBC by K Lakshmi Narayana, Proprietor of Lalithambica Enterprises, alleging default.

The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday that it has superseded the board of Aviom India Housing Finance due to governance concerns and payment defaults and plans to start bankruptcy proceedings against the company, Reuters reported. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it has appointed Ram Kumar, the former chief general manager of state-run Punjab National Bank as the administrator for the housing finance company. It did not specify the nature of the governance concerns.

The bankruptcy court in Mumbai approves IHL Lifesciences Pvt Ltd's acquisition of the listed firm Parental Drugs India Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. Before the tribunal’s approval, the Company's Committee of Creditors (CoC) had approved IHL Lifesciences’ resolution plan for Parental Drugs India with 100% of the vote.

India’s central bank purchased a large quantum of bonds last week, with the monetary authority stepping in to ease a cash crunch that is currently at its widest level in more than a decade, Bloomberg News reported. Central bank data released after local trading hours on Friday showed that the Reserve Bank of India purchased government securities worth 101.75 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) in the week ended Jan. 17. This marks the highest weekly purchase since August 2021, archival central bank data showed.

The National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) Delhi bench has dismissed Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s plea to initiate insolvency proceedings against ed-tech company Cue Learn Pvt. Ltd., LiveMint.com reported. Kumar had filed a plea against the edtech under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) over the non-payment of ₹4.83 crore as part of a 2021 endorsement agreement, terming the dues operational debt. However, the tribunal, in its judgment delivered on 7 January, held that Kumar’s claims did not qualify as operational debt under the IBC.