Vol 12 (2015) - Issue 4

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Tackling the Insolvency Question in India

The world’s largest democracy
At first glance, it might seem that the biggest news in bankruptcy recently was the release of the allocation decisions in the Nortel Networks cases. After all, this was a multi-billion dollar debtor with a group of companies across more than 60 jurisdictions, and involving complex issues at the frontier of international insolvency. It may be, however, that the biggest story in insolvency is in fact not coming out of the courts of New York and Toronto, but rather in the halls of government on the other side of the world. With a population of 1.25 billion people, India is the world’s largest democracy. In 2014, the country elected a new government, in India’s sixteenth general election. This election has been called 'the biggest democratic exercise in human history,' involving 930 thousand poll booths, five weeks of voting, and approximately 814 million eligible voters. The election welcomed record participation rates (approximately 2/3 of voters turned out,)and USD 5 billion in campaign spending. During its campaign, the government, which has now held office for roughly one year, stressed development, jobs, and an honest approach to public administration.