The Indian government is losing patience with the slow pace of debt resolution at IL&FS even three years after changing the board and assigning Uday Kotak to salvage the sinking ship.

The government has now instructed the IL&FS board to clean up the mess before March 2022 by selling all its bad debt to Arcil (Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd) and sending the remaining companies to NCLT for debt resolution. While the previous management led by Ravi Parthasarathy is currently cooling its heels in a Chennai jail, the new IL&FS management has been asked to show greater urgency in winding up the company.

IL&FS insiders say there are very few assets left for sale and once the IL&FS building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex is sold, the work of the new management will be almost over. With the government itself setting a deadline, the new management has an urgent task at hand.