Insolvency Code amendment bill tabled in Lok Sabha
New Delhi, July 23 : A bill to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, allowing an allottee of a real estate project to be treated as a financial creditor was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, amid allegations from opposition parties that some changes were intended to "help just one industry".
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 was introduced by interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal and seeks to replace an ordinance brought by the government earlier this year.
Taking part in the debate, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Bhartruhari Mahtab said he is opposed to the move to amend Section 33 of the Code to provide a reduced threshold from 75 per cent of voting share for obtaining the approval of the Committee of Creditors for making an application to the adjudicating authority to pass a liquidation order.
"That is the reason why I say that this is nothing but a fixed match. Bad loan resolution is becoming deep-rooted nexus between the bankers, auditors and promoters, which is undermining serious recovery," he said.
He was supported by some other opposition members as well.
Citing the resolution process of a textile company, Mahtab said two companies had jointly submitted before the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of the textile firm to acquire the company last April but the CoC failed to gather enough votes to act on the resolution plan.
"And here the crux of the problem lies. The proposal got 70 per cent of the votes when 75 per cent were needed. The government stepped in and an ordinance amending the IBC lowered the minimum vote needed for passing a resolution plan to 66 per cent from 75 per cent," he said.
Mahtab said the government "should stand up and do away with this type of crony capitalism".
Rejecting the allegations, Goyal said these are "baseless" and the amendments will have prospective effect.
He said that when the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was introduced, the country's banking sector was going through a serious crisis "because of indiscriminate and absolutely baseless lending" that happened during the period 2008 to 2014.
The Minister said the banking system gave money to promoters who had no business to get loans in the first place.
He said the cases being referred to "were also loans, which were given during that period and then subsequently restructured ... because of which the banking system was in dire straits."
Goyal said the laws to recover loans were weak and banks were unable to take back money from "big people", so notices were sent to others.
"No property of factory of big people were seized... The entire responsibility is of Congress," he said.
He said the amendments had been brought on the recommendations of a committee.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
