A compact process proposed in India to speed up insolvency resolution can be initiated only by financial creditors having a combined share of at least 51% in debt, according to the draft regulations floated by the bankruptcy regulator, the Economic Times of India reported. The defaulting firm in such cases must respond within 30 days to lenders’ notice seeking proceedings under the Creditor-initiated Insolvency Resolution Process (CIIRP). Faster insolvency process proposed with creditor-led resolution framework.

India plans to set up a special bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with trained manpower to handle cross-border insolvency cases once the new bankruptcy rules are notified, to fast-track proceedings, the Economic Times of India reported. The cross-border framework, approved last month as part of amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), will be based on a model UN law with modifications to suit the Indian context.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed initiation of insolvency proceedings against Videocon's former chairman and MD Venugopal Dhoot for defaulting on loans of Rs 6,158 crore, as a personal guarantor of two group companies, the Times of India reported. Admitting a plea from State Bank of India (SBI), NCLT said Venugopal Dhoot has "committed defaults in repayment of loan amount" granted by the financial creditor.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has reaffirmed that insolvency proceedings initiated by homebuyers against realty firms must remain confined to the specific project where default has occurred and cannot extend to other projects of the corporate debtor, the Economic Times of India reported. The appellate tribunal highlighted that putting all other projects of the realty firms, which are unrelated to the default, is not in the interest of homebuyers and other stakeholders of other projects.

Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the Indian conglomerate behind the nation's biggest-ever private credit deal, is trying to delay paying a separate debt, underscoring mounting strains amid volatile markets, Bloomberg News reported. The company, controlled by billionaire Shapoor Mistry, has asked investors to let it repay 143 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) of zero-coupon notes at its unit Goswami Infratech Pvt. at the end of June instead of the current April 30 deadline. Goswami Infratech is looking to refinance its existing bond through a planned dollar bond sale which has a more complex structure.

A committee of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has recommended the need to shift from an entity-centric, recovery-focused framework to a project-centric, completion-driven approach, along with stronger coordination between the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Hindustan Times reported.

A study commissioned by the insolvency regulator has called for removing structural inefficiencies in the current auction design pertaining to the rescue of bankrupt micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and putting in place an improved model to boost resolution, the Economic Times of India reported. The study on MSMEs in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, favoured the introduction of a single objective auction model where the bidder offering the highest recovery is awarded.

The businessman who masterminded a huge nickel fraud against Trafigura Group was named by Mauritius as the ultimate beneficiary of toxic loans that led to the collapse of a local lender, Bloomberg News reported. Prateek Gupta and entities linked to him received a total of 7.9 billion rupees ($168 million) from Silver Bank in which his wife Ginni Gupta held a 75% share, Premier and Finance Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam told lawmakers on Tuesday.