Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited

About IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services)

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) is one of India's most significant — and most controversial — infrastructure finance companies, incorporated in 1987. For three decades, IL&FS was the country's premier infrastructure project developer and financier, structuring, funding, and executing large-scale projects in roads, bridges, urban infrastructure, water, power, and ports across India. Its shareholders included LIC, SBI, Orix Corporation of Japan, HDFC, and Central Bank of India. In September 2018, IL&FS triggered India's worst NBFC crisis when it defaulted on its debt obligations — revealing an outstanding external debt of Rs.99,355 crore across its 347 group entities. The collapse shocked Indian financial markets and led to a systemic liquidity crunch affecting NBFCs across the country. The government responded by superseding the IL&FS board and appointing a new board led by Uday Kotak (of Kotak Mahindra Bank) under NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) supervision. Since 2018, the IL&FS resolution has been one of the most complex corporate restructuring exercises in Indian history. Under the new board's management, the IL&FS group has systematically sold assets, resolved entities, and repaid creditors. As of March 2025, the IL&FS group discharged Rs.45,281 crore of debt to lenders. NCLAT directed completion of resolution for remaining entities by March 31, 2025, with a moratorium extended to facilitate the process. As of the latest updates, resolution of IL&FS's 347 entities is substantially advanced, with proceeds from asset monetisation flowing to creditors in priority order. The resolution process covers toll roads, tunnels, power plants, urban infrastructure assets, and financial subsidiaries across multiple states.