Reference · the language of Indian insolvency

The insolvency glossary

Indian corporate insolvency has its own vocabulary — statutory, dense, and everywhere on this platform. Here is what every term actually means, in plain English: the big institutions and stages first, then an A–Z of the working jargon.

The big ones — institutions, roles & stages

IBC

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

India's unified insolvency law. Before 2016, a failing company could hide for a decade across BIFR, DRTs and civil courts; the IBC replaced that maze with one time-bound process: creditors take control, a professional runs the company, and the market decides whether it's revived or wound up.

The single biggest shift: it moved power from the promoter (owner) to the creditors. Default now means the owner can lose the company.

CIRP

Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process

The core process of the IBC. A creditor (or the company itself) files at the NCLT; on admission, a moratorium freezes all recovery action and a resolution professional takes over. The process then hunts for a buyer or a revival plan.

It is strictly time-bound: 180 days, extendable to 270, hard-capped at 330 including litigation — after which liquidation follows. That clock is why the pipeline moves every week.

The CIRP pipeline, stage by stage →

NCLT & NCLAT

National Company Law Tribunal / Appellate Tribunal

NCLT is the court of the process — 16 benches across India that admit cases, approve resolution plans, order liquidations and hear everything in between. Every stage change on this platform traces back to an NCLT or NCLAT order.

NCLAT hears appeals against NCLT orders; beyond it lies only the Supreme Court. Landmark insolvency law (Essar, Jaypee, avoidance rulings) is largely NCLAT and SC output.

Orders detected this week →

IBBI

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

The regulator. IBBI licenses every insolvency professional and registered valuer, writes the process regulations, and — crucially for this platform — publishes the public record: admissions, EoI invitations, auction notices, claims and outcomes.

Everything on stressed.in is built from IBBI, NCLT and MCA public data, structured and kept current.

IRP → RP → Liquidator

The professional chain

On admission, an Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) takes control of the company from its board. The Committee of Creditors then confirms them (or replaces them) as the Resolution Professional (RP), who runs the company and the sale process. If the case tips to liquidation, a Liquidator (often the same person) sells the assets.

All three roles are held by IBBI-licensed insolvency professionals — every one of whom has a profile on this platform, with their full case record.

The RP performance tracker →

CoC

Committee of Creditors

The financial creditors of the company, voting by share of debt. The CoC is the real decision-maker of a CIRP: it confirms the RP, negotiates with bidders, and approves or rejects resolution plans — a plan needs 66% of voting share to pass.

Its commercial wisdom is near-sacrosanct: courts rarely second-guess a CoC's accepted haircut.

Moratorium

Section 14, IBC

The freeze that begins the moment a case is admitted: no suits, no recovery, no enforcement of security, no asset transfers by the promoter. It exists to hold the company still — a calm period in which its true position can be assessed and a resolution attempted.

For investors, admission + moratorium is the starting gun: the company is now formally in play.

Companies just admitted →

EoI & Form G

Expression of Interest · the public invitation

Form G is the RP's published invitation for resolution applicants — the formal doorway into a distressed acquisition. It sets eligibility criteria and a last date for Expressions of Interest; qualifying applicants then get access to the data room and submit resolution plans.

If you want to buy a company under CIRP, this window is where you enter.

Open deals inviting EoIs now →

Resolution Plan

The revival bid

A binding proposal by a resolution applicant — an ARC, fund, strategic buyer or rival company — to take over the corporate debtor: how much creditors get, how the business runs, what happens to employees and guarantees. Approved first by the CoC (66%), then by the NCLT.

Once approved, it binds everyone — including dissenting creditors and the government.

Every approved plan, with recoveries →

Haircut

What creditors give up

The percentage of admitted claims that creditors do not recover under a resolution plan. If banks were owed ₹100 Cr and the plan pays ₹35 Cr, the haircut is 65%. It is the single most-quoted number in Indian insolvency — and the most misread.

A fairer lens: recovery against liquidation value — what the assets were actually worth when creditors took charge. This platform benchmarks both, case by case.

Haircuts, benchmarked →

Liquidation

Chapter III — winding up

If no viable plan emerges (or the CoC chooses it), the company is wound up: a Liquidator sells the assets — as a going concern if possible, otherwise piecemeal by e-auction — and distributes proceeds down the Section 53 waterfall.

Two distinct states matter to buyers: in-process (auctions live — assets are on the market now) and dissolved (done, company struck off). We track both.

Liquidation cases, in-process & dissolved →

Sections 7 · 9 · 10 · 12A

Who files, and the exit door

Section 7: a financial creditor (bank, NBFC, homebuyers) files. Section 9: an operational creditor — a supplier or service provider with unpaid dues — files. Section 10: the company files against itself.

Section 12A is the exit door: the promoter settles with creditors (90% CoC approval) and the case is withdrawn before conclusion — often the fastest resolution of all.

Cases settled & withdrawn →

ARC

Asset Reconstruction Company

An RBI-licensed institution that buys bad loans from banks at a discount and then works the recovery — through the IBC, SARFAESI enforcement, or restructuring. ARCs (and special-situations funds) are the professional buy-side of Indian distress, and the audience this platform's investor desk is built for.

The investor desk →
A–Z — the working jargon
Admitted claimvs. claimed
A creditor claims an amount; the RP verifies and admits what stands up. Admitted claims are the base for voting share, recoveries and haircuts. A claim not yet verified is "claimed — not yet crystallised", which is why fresh cases show no debt figure.
AFAAuthorisation for Assignment
An IP's annual licence-to-practise from their agency. No valid AFA, no new assignments — which is why AFA status appears on every RP profile.
Avoidance transactionsPUFE · Sections 43/45/49/66
Deals the promoter did before insolvency that the RP can claw back: Preferential, Undervalued, Fraudulent and Extortionate transactions. A growing body of NCLT orders — and recoveries — flows from these.
CDCorporate Debtor
The company in insolvency. Every case page on this platform is one CD's full record.
CINCorporate Identification Number
The 21-character MCA identity of a company. The registration number inside it (characters 16–21) survives name changes, conversions and even state transfers — it is how this platform tracks a company through everything.
EMDEarnest Money Deposit
The refundable deposit a bidder puts up to participate in a liquidation auction — proof of seriousness, forfeited if you win and walk away.
Fair value & Liquidation valuethe two benchmarks
Fair value: what the assets would fetch between willing parties. Liquidation value: what they'd fetch in a forced sale. Both are set by registered valuers at CIRP start, kept confidential during bidding, and are the yardsticks every resolution plan is measured against.
FC & OCFinancial vs Operational Creditor
FCs lent money (banks, NBFCs, bondholders, homebuyers) — they sit on the CoC and vote. OCs supplied goods or services — they can trigger insolvency (Section 9) but don't vote. The recovery gap between the two classes is one of the sharpest patterns in the data.
FiSPFinancial Service Provider
NBFCs and housing-finance companies resolved under special rules with RBI as the gatekeeper — a handful of landmark cases (DHFL, Srei, Reliance Capital) rather than a routine track.
Form A / B / Gthe public announcements
The statutory notices that make a case public: Form A announces CIRP and invites claims, Form B announces liquidation, Form G invites resolution applicants. Our weekly refresh reads all three feeds.
Going concern saleliquidation's best case
Selling the company alive — business, workforce and all — inside liquidation, instead of scrapping it piecemeal. Preserves far more value when it works.
ICDInsolvency Commencement Date
The date of NCLT admission. Every statutory clock — the 180/270/330 days, claim windows, look-back periods for avoidance — counts from here.
Information UtilityNeSL
A repository of authenticated debt records. Default recorded with an IU is near-conclusive evidence at admission — it removes the "we never defaulted" defence.
Personal GuarantorPG proceedings
Promoters who personally guaranteed company debt can face their own insolvency proceedings alongside the company's. A large share of NCLT order flow is PG cases — tracked separately from the corporate pipeline.
PRAProspective Resolution Applicant
A bidder who cleared the EoI stage: eligibility verified, on the final list, in the data room. The step between "interested" and "has submitted a plan".
Pre-pack / PPIRPthe MSME fast lane
A pre-packaged insolvency for MSMEs: the promoter and creditors agree a base plan before filing, and the tribunal process is compressed. Rare so far, tracked separately.
Reg 31(5) claims listthe claims break-up
The liquidator's published list of claims by creditor class — secured/unsecured FCs, workmen, government, others — with claimed vs admitted amounts. The finest-grained public view of who is owed what.
Resolution Applicantthe bidder
Whoever submits a resolution plan: an ARC, a fund, a strategic rival, occasionally the employees. Must clear Section 29A eligibility.
SARFAESIthe parallel track
The 2002 law letting secured lenders enforce collateral — seize and auction mortgaged assets — without a tribunal. Runs parallel to the IBC; many companies feel SARFAESI pressure before a Section 7 filing ever lands.
Section 29Awho cannot bid
The disqualification list: defaulting promoters, wilful defaulters, and their connected persons cannot buy the company back through a resolution plan. The provision that put teeth in the IBC — with a partial carve-out for MSMEs.
Section 53 waterfallwho gets paid first
The liquidation payout order: process costs → workmen's dues & secured creditors → other employees → unsecured financial creditors → government dues & residual secured → remaining debts → shareholders. Where you sit in the waterfall decides what you recover.
Registered Valuer / RVOwho sets the values
IBBI-registered professionals who determine fair and liquidation value, organised under Registered Valuer Organisations, across three asset classes: land & building, plant & machinery, securities/financial assets.
Voluntary liquidationSection 59
A solvent company choosing to wind up in an orderly way — an exit, not distress. Tracked on a separate rail so the distress pipeline stays clean. Voluntary liquidations →
Wilful defaulterRBI classification
A borrower who could pay but didn't, or diverted the money. The tag bars fresh bank credit — and, via Section 29A, bars bidding in insolvency.

Now read the data the language describes

Every term above is live somewhere on this platform — thousands of cases, every RP's record, and a pipeline that moves weekly. Seven days of the investor desk, free.

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