When India introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in 2016, it was hailed as a landmark reform to resolve corporate distress and clean up the country’s balance sheets. For the first time, lenders had a structured timeline and legal muscle to recover dues from defaulting borrowers. It was a turning point for financial discipline in India Inc.

But less than a decade later, cracks are showing.

Across industries — from media and infrastructure to real estate and retail — a growing number of promoters are voluntarily entering insolvency not just to restructure, but to wash away liabilities and walk away. In many of these cases, operational assets are stripped, employees are left unpaid, and dues to small creditors remain unresolved — even as promoters, through proxies or affiliates, circle back to reclaim assets at discounted rates.

The Strategy Behind the Exit

Legal experts and insolvency professionals point to a pattern:

1. Deliberate default or over-leveraging
2. Minimal recovery for creditors, often through resolution plans with massive haircuts (sometimes over 90%)
3. Promoter-linked entities bidding to buy back assets at a fraction of the original cost
4. Employees and vendors left unpaid, with no recourse
5. Business resumes under a new name — often with the same ecosystem, client base, and leadership

High-Profile Examples Under Scrutiny

• Infrastructure and real estate firms where large creditors took deep haircuts and promoters retained influence behind new shell entities
• Media companies where broadcast licenses and content libraries were transferred or re-acquired post-resolution, with liabilities to employees, vendors, and content creators left behind
• Retail chains where store networks were rebranded or transferred, while operational creditors got pennies on the rupee

In some instances, the Committee of Creditors (CoC), driven by banks looking to recover whatever they can, approved plans that effectively amounted to settlements of convenience — often raising eyebrows within the insolvency ecosystem.

Why It’s a Problem

• Erosion of trust in the resolution system
• Small vendors and employees suffer, while large lenders settle for low recoveries
• Ethical concerns around backdoor promoter returns
• Potential rise in “strategic defaults” — where insolvency is planned, not forced

What Experts Say

Regulators and insolvency professionals have begun sounding the alarm. There’s growing demand for:

• Stricter scrutiny of resolution applicants to avoid promoter re-entry via proxies
• Tighter timelines and disclosures in the IBC process
• Safeguards for employees and operational creditors, who often remain unsecured
• Public interest audits in high-profile resolutions

The IBC was envisioned as a tool for revival, not a roadmap for reinvention without responsibility. As misuse grows, the line between genuine insolvency and strategic liability dumping continues to blur. If left unchecked, India risks losing the very credibility IBC was meant to create — and with it, the hope of building a cleaner, more accountable corporate culture.

India’s media industry, historically a cornerstone of public discourse and democracy, is grappling with a profound economic crisis. The combination of declining advertisement revenues, digital disruption, rising operational costs, and financial mismanagement has led several prominent media organizations and news agencies into insolvency, restructuring, or severe financial distress.

Insolvency and Financial Distress Cases:

Sadhna Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Admitted into insolvency by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in July 2022, Sadhna Communications underwent a resolution process that culminated in October 2023, reflecting the precarious financial standing even among established broadcasters.

Sadhna Broadcast Ltd.
Known for regional news channels, faced significant regulatory scrutiny and financial turbulence. In February 2025, SEBI issued a settlement order regarding alleged stock manipulation through misleading digital content, underscoring financial and ethical vulnerabilities.

Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd.
Once a prominent entity behind channels like SAB TV, this network entered insolvency proceedings in 2022 due to mounting debt and dwindling revenues, marking a notable decline for a once-influential media group.

Struggling Media Companies and Agencies:

Hindustan Samachar Group
This major regional media player, publishing prominent dailies such as Jagbani and Punjabi Tribune, has been struggling with operational losses, wage delays, and temporary suspensions of certain editions due to rising print costs and falling revenues.

CNN-News18
Under Network18, CNN-News18 has seen bureau closures and substantial job cuts. While not insolvent, the channel faces ongoing financial pressures, forcing it to significantly restructure operations to maintain viability.

Zee Media Corporation Ltd.
Zee Media, which operates multiple regional and national channels, faced financial stress and restructuring. Despite its scale, declining ad revenues and high operational costs have led to job cuts and downsizing across its newsrooms.

National News Agencies Under Pressure:

Press Trust of India (PTI)
India’s largest news agency, PTI, has faced severe financial stress amid shrinking subscriptions from newspapers and broadcasters. Delays in wage payments and hiring freezes highlight its financial vulnerability.

United News of India (UNI)
UNI, another major news agency, has faced severe financial difficulties, leading to unpaid salaries, reductions in workforce, and operational cutbacks. Its financial struggles underscore the broader challenges faced by news syndicators in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Broader Industry Challenges:

• Advertising Revenue Collapse: Digital giants like Google and Meta dominate digital ad spending, leaving traditional media with drastically reduced revenues.
• Operational and Input Costs: Rising newsprint prices, high satellite fees, and infrastructure maintenance have squeezed profit margins severely.
• Changing Audience Habits: Audiences, particularly younger demographics, increasingly consume news through social media, YouTube, and independent digital creators, further undermining traditional media models.
• Political and Economic Pressures: Media houses increasingly rely on political patronage or corporate backing, raising concerns about editorial independence and financial sustainability.

Path Forward:

To survive this crisis, media entities need urgent restructuring, embracing diversified revenue streams, digital-first strategies, and editorial integrity to rebuild audience trust and financial health. The industry’s future may rely on agile, sustainable models emphasizing credibility, innovation, and audience engagement.

In what sounds like a scene from Jurassic Park, biotech labs around the world are racing to bring extinct animals back to life — not in theory, but in practice. At the center of this movement is the concept of de-extinction, where genetic engineering is used to recreate species that disappeared from the planet centuries or even millennia ago.

Recently, researchers successfully created genetically modified wolf pups with DNA remarkably close to that of the long-extinct dire wolf — a prehistoric predator last seen over 10,000 years ago. This scientific feat is part of a much larger ambition to revive species like the woolly mammoth and the dodo, with hopes of reintroducing them into the wild.

But beyond the thrill of discovery lies a tough question: Can we afford to bring back the past?

The economics of de-extinction are complex. Creating and raising a genetically engineered animal isn’t cheap — the research, cloning, surrogacy, habitat preparation, and post-birth care can cost millions. While venture capital is flowing into biotech firms promising to resurrect the ancient, critics question whether this funding could be better spent protecting endangered species that are still alive — and in desperate need of conservation.

There are ethical dilemmas, too. The animals involved in surrogacy, the potential suffering of engineered species, and the risk of ecological imbalance all present moral gray areas. And what happens when an extinct species is reintroduced into an ecosystem that no longer resembles the one it once knew?

Then comes the business model. If de-extinction becomes a commercial service — part conservation, part spectacle — will it be driven by scientific integrity or by market demand? Will we have de-extinct animals housed in wildlife parks and exhibitions rather than roaming the wild?

Supporters argue that de-extinction could help restore lost biodiversity and even combat climate change, by rebalancing disrupted ecosystems. Critics warn it’s an expensive distraction from saving the living world.

In the end, de-extinction may be less about resurrection and more about reflection — a mirror held up to our choices as stewards of this planet. The science is catching up to imagination. Whether society is ready — financially, ethically, and environmentally — is still an open question.