Hyderabad: ICFAI Law School inks MoU with ILA to mentor young scholars

Hyderabad: Giving an impetus to insolvency-related laws and courses, a memorandum of understanding was inked between ICFAI Law School and Insolvency Law Academy (ILA) in the city recently.

As part of the MoU, a chair will be established, a regional centre for insolvency will be started and joint research will be undertaken.

On this occasion, Justice M S K Jaiswal, corporate lawyer VVSN Raju, president of ILA Sumant Batra, Professor Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi, Registrar of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, and Dr. A V Narsimha Rao, Director, ICFAI Law School, spoke about the importance of insolvency laws.

Agreements as per the Memorandum of Understanding:

ILA and ICFAI Law School have agreed to explore cooperation and collaboration on various projects of knowledge development, research, and capacity building in insolvency and related areas. A Steering Committee (SC) shall comprise four members, with two members each representing ILA and ICFAI Law School. The objective of the Steering Committee will be to discuss the projects and programs. The SC will be chaired by ILA and ICFAI Law School by rotation every year.

ILA and ICFAI Law School have further agreed to establish a ‘Regional Centre for Insolvency and Bankruptcy’ in the ICFAI Law School Campus at Hyderabad. This Regional Centre will serve as a platform for carrying out joint activities of ILA and ICFAI Law School.

The centre will have a coordination committee of experts representing the Southern states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. ILA and ICFAI Law School will also set up a Chair on Bank Insolvency, under the Regional Centre for Insolvency and Bankruptcy for a term of three years. An honorary head of global eminence will head the Chair.

Insolvency is no longer a negative narrative, say experts

On the occasion of the signing of the MoU, the president of ILA, Sumant Batra focused on Personal Insolvency Law, Cross Border Incumbency, Pre-Insolvency Resolution, Mediation, and Next Generation Reforms. He also emphasized mentoring young scholars and adopting best practices. He proposed to set up a steering committee between the two organizations and conduct annual meetings to brainstorm and share ideas. “Insolvency laws are needed to prevent deterioration of the health of the banking sector and generate new opportunities for employment and business as well as for creating financial discipline,” stated Batra and added that an MoU will be signed between ILA and Arun Jaitley Foundation by February 2024.

Elaborating on the four verticals of ILA, Batra said, “These include a market-driven independent think tank, which can provide policy support to the government through deep analysis and cutting-edge research, secondly a top-end research center, thirdly creation of a formidable cadre of insolvency scholars and academicians in the country to further research and career goals. The fourth vertical includes implementation of best practices and preparation of a voluntary and/or regulatory code of conduct.”

Justice MSK Jaiswal in his address said that laws should strictly deal with white collar crimes, which cuts into the vitals of the economy. Stringent laws will strengthen and reinforce the fabric of the Indian economy. “Non-performing assets are eating into the fiber of the society. We need specialization by professionals to rescue duped people,” he said.

In his inaugural address, director of ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad, Prof. A V Narsimha Rao emphasised insolvency resolution and discussed that ICFAI Law School has taken the initiative to introduce a one-year PG programme in insolvency and resolution. He said that research is at a nascent stage and many more areas ought to be covered in the discipline. He said ICFAI Law School has convened an international conference on insolvency and bankruptcy.

Later, interacting with the audience, Prof Narsmiha mentioned the shift in people’s mindset regarding insolvency. He said, “The stigma associated with the term ‘insolvency’ is coming down. It now indicates a revival of business, not a closure of business. It refers to transferring of the business to competent and expert hands and utilizing the non-performing assets by taking working capital from some investors. Thus, there is also the scope for employment generation through the revival. Since the implementation of insolvency laws, in the last five to six years, more than Rs 2,5 lakh crore worth of dead assets have been recovered and reutilized.”

Dr Vijaya Lakshmi, Registrar of IFHE, briefed about the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education and said that the MoU will give a mileage to research projects and create inroads into the field of insolvency and would be rewarding not only to the university but also to the state and nation at large.

Insolvency Law Academy

ILA is a public charitable trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and an independent Indian institute of excellence in insolvency. It has four centers in Hyderabad (with ICFAI), Delhi, Goa, and Kolkata.

As a think tank and research institute, ILA seeks to contribute to policymaking and the enhancement of standards in the insolvency industry through cutting-edge research, innovation, and development of best practices, training, mentoring, and certification. It offers two-year post-graduation courses and a one-year diploma course.