event

Recovery and Resilience: A workshop on India’s Bankruptcy Resolution Framework

Wed. October 14th, 2020

Microsoft Teams Webinar

The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath has caused a severe economic disruption in India. Many businesses are facing financial distress and financial liquidity issues. Sustainable economic recovery will require an efficient resolution system, which enables viable and competitive firms to restructure their liabilities, and allows capital to be reallocated from unviable firms to healthy ones. Lastly, a good resolution framework helps improve macroeconomic stability by preventing the growth of “zombie” firms, and enabling troubled financial firms to be resolved smoothly.

In 2016, India's newly enacted bankruptcy law — the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 — reshaped the manner in which firm insolvencies occurred in the country. The implementation of this law has assumed a new dimension in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IBC was suspended by the government at the onset of the lockdown, and it is unclear when the suspension will end. Similarly, a legislation for resolving financial firms was introduced in the last Lok Sabha, but subsequently withdrawn. The efficient functioning of the IBC and the introduction of a mechanism for resolving financial firms are key components that will strengthen India’s recovery process.

Carnegie India is delighted to invite you to ‘Recovery and Resilience: A workshop on India’s Bankruptcy Resolution Framework.’ This workshop will examine the need for strengthening India’s institutional infrastructure for insolvency and bankruptcy in the wake of India’s economic slowdown.

The workshop agenda is as follows:

4:00 - 4:40 p.m.: Presentation on resolution for non-financial firms by Anirudh Burman, followed by comments from Susan Thomas.
4:40 - 5:20 p.m.: Presentation on resolution of financial firms by Suyash Rai, followed by comments from Shashank Saksena.
5:20 - 6:30 p.m: A panel discussion with Pratik Datta, Nikhil Shah, Anjali Sharma and Suharsh Sinha, moderated by Rajeswari Sengupta.

To submit a question for the event, please email carnegieindia@ceip.org. Participants may also submit their questions through the Q&A box in the Teams webinar or the comments section on our YouTube livestream.

event speakers

Pratik Datta
Pratik is a Senior Research Fellow at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, an Indian law firm. Previously, he worked with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the Supreme Court of India. His research focuses on public policy issues pertaining to the Indian financial sector. He has written extensively on the Indian insolvency regime. Pratik holds BA LLB (Hons) from WBNUJS Kolkata and MSc Law and Finance from University of Oxford.
Shashank Saksena
Shashank Saksena is adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. He is in-charge of the divisions on Financial Legislation and Reforms, Financial Stability, and Currency and Coinage. He serves on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India and Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd.
Nikhil Shah
Nikhil Shah is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal and leads the turnaround & restructuring practice in India. He has played an integral role in several high profile turnarounds, performance improvement, distressed M&A and financial restructuring projects and brings more than 15 years serving public and privately-owned companies. He has led several complex engagements across a range of industries including steel, power, infrastructure, transportation, telecom, financial services, consumer electronics, chemicals, technology and textiles across North America and Asia. He has also authored several white papers on the stressed asset market including Outlook for Stressed Asset Market in India and Asset Reconstruction Companies: Small Steps on a Long Road Ahead. Mr. Shah has also advised the Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee and Joint Parliamentary Committee on drafting of the Indian Insolvency & Bankruptcy Act of 2016. He is currently serving the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on implementation of the new insolvency & bankruptcy code.
Anjali Sharma
Anjali Sharma is a senior research consultant at the Finance Research Group. Her research interests are in understanding the financing patterns of firms, corporate bankruptcy reforms, and the space of commercial interface between firms and government. In the past, she lead the work of the research secretariat for the Standing Council on International Competitiveness of Indian Finance, a committee set up by the Ministry of Finance. She was a team member in the research secretariat for the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee. Prior to her work at FRG, she was a corporate finance professional in the TATA group, holding positions in companies in the telecommunications and financial services sectors. She has a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a MBA in Finance.
Suharsh Sinha
Suharsh Sinha is a partner in the finance practice at AZB & Partners, specialising in restructuring and insolvency. Suharsh was a researcher with the Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee instrument in drafting the IBC and has been actively involved in advising the standing committee of the Insolvency Law Committee. He has advised a wide range of clients in marquee insolvency matters such as Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, DHFL and Jet Airways. Suharsh finished his LLB from National Law School, Bangalore (2008); obtained an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania and MSc. In Law and Finance from Oxford University Faculty of Law and Said Business School. He is qualified to practice law in India, England and New York. Prior to joining AZB, he was a restructuring and insolvency lawyer at Linklaters LLP, London.
Anirudh Burman
Associate Research Director and Fellow, Carnegie India
Suyash Rai
Fellow, Carnegie India
Rajeswari Sengupta
Rajeswari Sengupta is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, India. In the past, she has held research positions at the IFMR Business School, Chennai, the Reserve Bank of India, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. Her main areas of interest include international finance, open economy macroeconomics, monetary economics and banking, firm financing and financial markets. She was a member of the research secretariat for the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC) that drafted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law (IBC, 2016) for India. She has published papers in academic journals such as The Journal of International Money and Finance, and The World Economy, and written chapters in edited volumes published by the Asian Development Bank, and the G20, among others. She obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She holds two previous degrees in Economics from India, a Bachelor's degree from Presidency College, Calcutta and a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics.
Susan Thomas
Susan Thomas is an economist with research interests in financial econometrics and market microstructure. Her recent research has focused on the performance of financial markets, behavior choices in household finance, behavioral choices in firm finance and the workings of the NCLT. She was a member of the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee, and a member of the Working Group on the organisational structure and design of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

event speakers

Pratik Datta
Pratik is a Senior Research Fellow at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, an Indian law firm. Previously, he worked with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the Supreme Court of India. His research focuses on public policy issues pertaining to the Indian financial sector. He has written extensively on the Indian insolvency regime. Pratik holds BA LLB (Hons) from WBNUJS Kolkata and MSc Law and Finance from University of Oxford.
Shashank Saksena
Shashank Saksena is adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. He is in-charge of the divisions on Financial Legislation and Reforms, Financial Stability, and Currency and Coinage. He serves on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India and Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd.
Nikhil Shah
Nikhil Shah is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal and leads the turnaround & restructuring practice in India. He has played an integral role in several high profile turnarounds, performance improvement, distressed M&A and financial restructuring projects and brings more than 15 years serving public and privately-owned companies. He has led several complex engagements across a range of industries including steel, power, infrastructure, transportation, telecom, financial services, consumer electronics, chemicals, technology and textiles across North America and Asia. He has also authored several white papers on the stressed asset market including Outlook for Stressed Asset Market in India and Asset Reconstruction Companies: Small Steps on a Long Road Ahead. Mr. Shah has also advised the Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee and Joint Parliamentary Committee on drafting of the Indian Insolvency & Bankruptcy Act of 2016. He is currently serving the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on implementation of the new insolvency & bankruptcy code.
Anjali Sharma
Anjali Sharma is a senior research consultant at the Finance Research Group. Her research interests are in understanding the financing patterns of firms, corporate bankruptcy reforms, and the space of commercial interface between firms and government. In the past, she lead the work of the research secretariat for the Standing Council on International Competitiveness of Indian Finance, a committee set up by the Ministry of Finance. She was a team member in the research secretariat for the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee. Prior to her work at FRG, she was a corporate finance professional in the TATA group, holding positions in companies in the telecommunications and financial services sectors. She has a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a MBA in Finance.
Suharsh Sinha
Suharsh Sinha is a partner in the finance practice at AZB & Partners, specialising in restructuring and insolvency. Suharsh was a researcher with the Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee instrument in drafting the IBC and has been actively involved in advising the standing committee of the Insolvency Law Committee. He has advised a wide range of clients in marquee insolvency matters such as Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, DHFL and Jet Airways. Suharsh finished his LLB from National Law School, Bangalore (2008); obtained an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania and MSc. In Law and Finance from Oxford University Faculty of Law and Said Business School. He is qualified to practice law in India, England and New York. Prior to joining AZB, he was a restructuring and insolvency lawyer at Linklaters LLP, London.
Anirudh Burman
Associate Research Director and Fellow, Carnegie India
Suyash Rai
Fellow, Carnegie India
Rajeswari Sengupta
Rajeswari Sengupta is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, India. In the past, she has held research positions at the IFMR Business School, Chennai, the Reserve Bank of India, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. Her main areas of interest include international finance, open economy macroeconomics, monetary economics and banking, firm financing and financial markets. She was a member of the research secretariat for the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC) that drafted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law (IBC, 2016) for India. She has published papers in academic journals such as The Journal of International Money and Finance, and The World Economy, and written chapters in edited volumes published by the Asian Development Bank, and the G20, among others. She obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She holds two previous degrees in Economics from India, a Bachelor's degree from Presidency College, Calcutta and a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics.
Susan Thomas
Susan Thomas is an economist with research interests in financial econometrics and market microstructure. Her recent research has focused on the performance of financial markets, behavior choices in household finance, behavioral choices in firm finance and the workings of the NCLT. She was a member of the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee, and a member of the Working Group on the organisational structure and design of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Recovery and Resilience: A workshop on India’s Bankruptcy Resolution Framework

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