MUMBAI: National e-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL) plans to offer its platform to insolvency professionals (IPs) to store data during the bankruptcy resolution process, a top executive at the information utility (IU) said.
In an interview, NeSL managing director and chief executive S. Ramann said NeSL plans to become a platform where data from banks, IPs and liquidators can be integrated.
The new project, which will be announced in the next couple of weeks, will help IPs get easier access to data on a company’s debtors, Ramann said on the sidelines of a conference on Saturday.
“We have to get into the services for IPs because the IPs go through an entire resolution process. They hold a lot of important data. That data logically has to be held in a place on a permanent basis. IU as per Section 38 of the regulation is supposed to hold data of IPs. It’s not mandatory. That is the other thing we need to get into. MCA (ministry of corporate affairs) would like to see that the IU performs variety of roles for the entire IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process," said Ramann.
Government-owned NeSL is India’s only IU which provides data sourced from different banks, enabling faster admission of cases for insolvency process under the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
According to NeSL, a resolution professional prepares 38 reports in the course of the resolution process at various stages based on the data received. This includes details about claimants, operational filings, creditors and details of voting.
NeSL is also looking to get data for the liquidation process.
“Tomorrow, if a resolution has taken place and things have shut shop, but somebody wants to pull out data, somebody goes and files a case. You are dependent on the resolution professional to come back with that data. Permanent storage of data is therefore critical," he added.
More than a year after it was set up under the IBC, NeSL has default filings of nearly 8,000 companies. The IU runs it past the debtor and then issues a record of default which the creditor can use to refer the company to NCLT.
Currently, only banks and non-banking financial companies file data with NeSL. But the IU is looking to collect data from debenture trustees which store data on investment in bonds and debentures of firms.
Ramann also added that he has proposed to MCA to map the Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest (CERSAI) which stores data on security interest and IU which has granular data on loans.
