Marking its 10th anniversary, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has transformed India's credit market, helping creditors realise over Rs 4 lakh crore and rescuing nearly 4,100 companies, significantly reducing banking sector NPAs.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) completed 10 years of its existence today, marking an institutional transformation with far-reaching implications for credit markets and economic efficiency. Since its enactment in 2016, the resolution process under the Code has facilitated the realisation of over four lakh crore rupees for creditors, emerging as a watershed reform that consolidated and modernised the fragmented insolvency framework in the country.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs revealed that, as of March 2026, 1,419 cases yielded resolution plans. This realisation to the creditors stands at 95 per cent and 167 per cent as against their fair and liquidation value, respectively.
Case Resolution and Company Revival
Till March 2026, a total of 8,987 cases were admitted, with 7,102 reaching closure. Of these closed cases, around 58 per cent, translating to 4,099 companies, were successfully rescued, while another 3,003 cases culminated in liquidation. Among the rescued entities, 1,388 cases were closed on account of appeal, review, or settlement, and 1,292 were withdrawn.
The Ministry further stated that around 42 per cent of the cases that ended with resolution plans previously remained with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction or were defunct, underscoring the role of the code in facilitating the revival of financially distressed enterprises.
Deterrent Effect and Impact on NPAs
The deterrent effect of the Code altered debtor-creditor dynamics, as more than 30,000 cases filed before the National Company Law Tribunal were resolved at the pre-admission stage through withdrawals, involving amounts estimated at nearly Rs 14 lakh crore. In the absence of these settlements, the gross Non-Performing Asset (NPA) ratio of the banking sector would likely have remained substantially higher than the reported level of 2.1 per cent as of September 2025, compared to nearly 11.8 per cent in 2017.
Leading Mechanism for Stressed Asset Recovery
Citing the Reserve Bank of India's Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India, the Ministry noted that the Code became the most effective mechanism for the recovery of stressed assets. Of the total recoveries of Rs 1.04 lakh crore made by Scheduled Commercial Banks through various channels, nearly Rs 0.54 lakh crore, accounting for about 52.4 per cent, was realised through the IBC process. The RBI report stated that recovery rates under IBC improved to 36.6 per cent in 2024-25 from 28.3 per cent in the previous year, highlighting the growing effectiveness of the insolvency framework in addressing stressed assets and contributing to the reduction in gross non-performing assets.
Evidence of Behavioural and Performance Improvements
Behavioural Shift in Loan Repayments
On a behavioural level, an IIM Bangalore study on the impact of the Code observed that the proportion of loan accounts transitioning from the 'Overdue' to the 'Normal' category steadily increased between 2018 and 2024. This shift reflected a sharp reduction in the average number of days an account remained overdue, which declined from 248-344 days to 30-87 days.
Significant Post-Resolution Revival
Furthermore, the Ministry mentioned that a 2025 study undertaken by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad on resolved firms highlighted significant post-resolution revival. The study noted that average sales of resolved firms increased by nearly 89 per cent, while asset turnover ratios improved by around 131 per cent. The average capital expenditure rose by approximately 106 per cent in the five years after resolution.
"The study further notes a remarkable increase in the aggregate market valuation of resolved listed entities, which rose from nearly Rs 2.8 lakh crore to about Rs 9 lakh crore over five years, signalling strengthened investor confidence and improved long-term growth prospects following successful resolution," the Ministry highlighted.
A Paradigm Shift in Insolvency Resolution
When the IBC started in 2016, it promised to move beyond an era marked by significant erosion of enterprise value, where prolonged delays resulted in assets being sold piecemeal, leaving creditors to recover only a few paise on the rupee. In response, the Code established a coherent, creditor-driven, and time-bound mechanism emphasising corporate revival and value maximisation. (ANI)
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