IL&FS Discharges Rs 45,281 Cr Debt, Resolves 197 Entities

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) The debt-ridden IL&FS group has discharged Rs 45,281 crore to its creditors as of March 2025, completing the resolution of its 197 entities, according to the latest status report affidavit filed before the insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT.

This is 18.9 per cent higher than Rs 38,082 crore, the amount of debt that stood resolved from the last status report filed by IL&FS six months before on October 28, 2024.

"As of March 21, 2025, a debt of Rs 45,281 crore has been resolved, out of the debt resolution target of Rs 61,000 crore, as a result of the resolution of 197 entities out of 302 entities having been concluded," said IL&FS.

Now, only 105 entities remain to be resolved, out of which moratorium protection is now only required to be continued for 57 entities.

"Basis current estimates, the new board expects the overall recovery to be approximately Rs 61,000 crores, which is 61 per cent of the overall debt as of October 2018," said the latest IL&FS affidavit.

As per the recovery process, IL&FS' new board has been engaged in the termination of the non-fund-based limits availed by its group entities. IL&FS group is releasing and cancelling bank guarantees or letters of credit issued by them. Besides, it is also paying cash through interim distribution to domestic entities.

Out of Rs 45,281 crore, IL&FS has discharged Rs 21,581 crore through monetisation, termination and transfer of assets to InviT and Rs 9,026 from "auto debits, green entity principal servicing, NFB release".

The rest Rs 14,674 crore was discharged through "interim distribution" which includes cash and InviT units.

In November last year, NCLT had directed the IL&FS group to complete the resolution of the remaining 58 firms by March 31, 2025 and extended the moratorium until the date.

The NCLAT had extended the moratorium after observing that the process for the remaining 58 entities is at an advanced stage and "considerable progress has been made by IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services), which is paring debts through asset resolution and other mechanisms.

Before that NCLAT had on August 28, 2024 questioned the continuation of the moratorium for the IL&FS entities, observing that "the protection under order dated October 15, 2018, cannot be allowed to continue for all time to come".

In the latest status report, the IL&FS group has informed that one of its entities, Barwa Adda Expressway, has been removed from the moratorium, hence, there is "need for continued moratorium protection for 57 IL&FS Group entities beyond March 31, 2025, till such time final resolution is completed".

Moreover, the resolution value of such IL&FS group entities, where the application has been approved or taken on record by NCLT but where closing is yet to take place, aggregates to Rs 2,126 crore, as of March 21, 2025.

Besides, "the resolution value in respect of such IL&FS group entities, where the application is yet to be approved/ taken on record by the NCLT aggregates to Rs 681 crore".

The 57 entities, for which continuation of moratorium is now required, are largely those entities where closure proceedings have been initiated before the NCLT, however, the final approval is awaited, and thus are at the final stage of resolution.

In some matters, applications filed before the appellate tribunal NCLAT seeking reliefs that would result in successful resolution of the relevant IL&FS Group entity are pending adjudication.

IL&FS group, which had an outstanding external debt of Rs 99,355 crore at the time of its crisis, is resolving the debts through monetisation and settlement of payments by its entities from the concessioning authorities and counter-party to the relevant contract.

IL&FS Group as of October 2018, had availed fund-based debt of Rs 94,215 crore out of the total outstanding external debt of Rs 99,355 crore.

Out of this, Rs 48,000 crore, which is nearly 51 per cent, was availed by four key holding companies -- IL&FS Group, IFIN, ITNL, and IEDCL.

On October 1, 2018, NCLT superseded the existing board of IL&FS on the recommendation of the central government after the mega-crisis in IL&FS, which shook the finance industry.

It had also granted protection to the IL&FS companies against recovery of any further dues and immunity to the newly appointed directors of IL&FS against any proceedings for the past actions of suspended directors or any of the officers thereof.