The financially troubled IL&FS group has made substantial progress in resolving its debt crisis, having repaid a significant ₹48,463 crore to its creditors as of September 2025. This development marks a crucial milestone in the company's ongoing efforts to stabilize its financial position under the supervision of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
Substantial Progress in Debt Resolution
According to the latest status report submitted to the NCLAT, IL&FS has now achieved approximately 80% of its total debt resolution target of ₹61,000 crore. The current repayment figure of ₹48,463 crore represents a 7.02% increase from the ₹45,281 crore that had been repaid until March 2025.
The infrastructure financing giant, which faced a severe crisis in 2018, has been working systematically to address its massive debt burden of ₹99,355 crore. The affidavit filed by IL&FS clearly states that "the total debt discharged to creditors of the Respondent No 1 Group aggregates to ₹48,463 crore" as of September 30, 2025.
Multiple Strategies for Debt Reduction
IL&FS has employed several methods to reduce its debt burden effectively. The primary approach has been through asset resolution, with the group generating ₹25,893 crore through monetization, termination, or transfer of assets to Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
Additional debt resolution methods have contributed significantly to the overall progress. The company has utilized auto-debits, principal servicing in profitable green entities, and the release of non-fund-based limits availed by its subsidiaries. These combined efforts have resulted in debt resolution of approximately ₹7,545 crore as of the September 2025 deadline.
Through interim distribution following NCLAT's order dated May 31, 2022, IL&FS has paid ₹15,026 crore to external financial creditors out of a total distribution of ₹16,898 crore.
Current Financial Position and Ongoing Challenges
The group maintains a healthy cash balance of ₹8,575 crore, though only ₹406 crore is immediately available for interim or final distribution. A substantial portion, ₹3,735 crore, is reserved for going concern expenses, contingent claims, and external routed claims, while the remaining ₹4,108 crore is available in entities currently undergoing resolution processes.
IL&FS entities also hold InvIT units valued at ₹326 crore, received through the transfer of certain InvIT Special Purpose Vehicles including through intra-group distribution.
The resolution process has seen significant success in addressing the complex corporate structure. From the original 302 entities comprising the IL&FS group as of October 2018, the company has fully resolved 202 companies, including 76 domestic firms and 126 offshore entities.
However, challenges remain. Applications for resolving 36 domestic entities are pending approvals at various stages, while resolution applications for 62 entities (55 domestic and 7 offshore) have yet to be filed due to ongoing difficulties in these cases.
In a notable achievement, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL) recently completed the transfer of Chenani Nashri Tunnelway Limited to Singapore-based Cube Highways & Infrastructure II Pte. This transaction represents one of the largest asset resolutions in the group's recovery process. The tunnel, now known as Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel, is India's longest highway tunnel, spanning 9.28 kilometers between Chenani and Nashri in Jammu and Kashmir.
