Everything You Need to Know About IBBI

Preface: This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated on August 26, 2025, to provide you with the most current and accurate information.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India (IBC) 2016 came into force on 28 May 2016. With the introduction of IBC came a statutory body known as Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to control and regulate insolvency and bankruptcy India matters. 

This singular body was established under IBC so that every matter pertaining to corporate insolvency could be solved under one roof. In this article, we are going to look into the responsibilities of IBBI.

About IBBI: Overseer of Insolvency/Bankruptcy Matters

The primary function of IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) is to be the overseer of the matters concerned with insolvency and bankruptcy. These matters take the form of agencies, professionals, and processes. Let us take a closer look:

1. Insolvency agencies: These agencies are the ones that provide insolvency resolution professionals to the NCLT in the time of need. The IBBI sees to it that these agencies are legit, the professionals that they provide are up to the task and they do have what it takes to take on the burden of Insolvency Resolution. The IBBI presents a set of rules that these IPA (Insolvency Professional Agencies) have to abide by, failing which leads to penalties.

2. Insolvency professionals: It is the IBBI that conducts the examination associated with the appointment of Insolvency professionals (interim or otherwise). The process of appointment of such professionals is the one that demands proper examination, combined with the eligibility and the experience of the professionals. These professionals are the ones that are responsible for coming up with an insolvency resolution plan within a constrained time. Although the end result might lead to liquidation, one can always expect that maybe, just maybe the company can be revived. Therefore, the way to select a resolution professional is extra stringent.

3. Insolvency processes: Insolvency resolution, as a process, revolves around a lot of financial information. The correctness, the frequency and the regularity at which this information is updated is the deciding factor for how the insolvency resolution process would eventually lead: resolution or liquidation. Therefore, the IBBI has provided a centralized database through which the insolvency resolution professional can extract financial information in order to make sound decisions while planning the resolution process. This information utility is the very core of the reason as to the resolution process.

Governing Board of IBBI

In total, the Insolvency Board of India has 10 governing members. The structure of the governing board is as follows:

• 1 IBBI Chairperson: They are the head of the bankruptcy and insolvency board. At present, IBBI chairman is Mr. Ravi Mittal.

• 3 Government Officials: IBBI has a total of 3 government officers. They are the ex-officio representatives from these ministries: (i) Ministry of Finance, (ii) Ministry of Law, and (iii) Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

• 1 RBI Nominee: 1 member of IBBI is an individual who is nominated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• 5 Other Members: The remaining 5 members of IBBI are nominated by the Centre. At least three of these members are full-time members of IBBI.

Advantages of IBBI

The penultimate feature of the IBC , the IBBI is instrumental in creating a single playground on which the matters of insolvency resolution can be resolved. The advantages of this regulatory body are as follows:

1. It offers a speedy resolution process for the corporate debtors like small companies, startups, unlisted companies, etc.

2. IBBI India provides a fast resolution for the stressed assets by overseeing IBC 2016.

3. It designates the National Company Law Tribunal as the adjudicating authority for corporate debtors and the Debt Recovery Tribunal as the adjudicating authority for individuals/partnership firms

Conclusion

Insolvency Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is one of the four pillars of the IBC 2016. The other three pillars are Information Utilities, Information Professional and Adjudicating Authority. IBBI was established to regulate insolvency professionals, agencies and processes for timely resolution of debt.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Who is the chairman of IBBI?

A. The chairman of IBBI is Mr. Ravi Mittal.

Q2. How many governing members does IBBI consist of?

A. IBBI consists of 10 governing members in total. 

Q3. Which Act led to the formation of IBBI?

A. The IBC 2016 led to the formation of IBBI. 

Q4. Which statutory body is responsible for overseeing insolvency processes?

A. IBBI is responsible for overseeing insolvency processes in India.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.