The re-constituted board of the IL&FS group, which met on Thursday, is examining four options to pull the infrastructure lender out of its current crisis even as its task has been complicated by the presence of a larger number of entities than expected.
The four options were spelt out by Uday Kotak, non-executive chairman of IL&FS, on Thursday. Kotak, along with other members of the IL&FS board, was speaking to reporters after a meeting that lasted over five hours.
This was their first meeting after the Centre on Monday superseded the earlier IL&FS board and suggested the names of six directors to replace them.
The Centre’s application to reconstitute the board was later allowed by a Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
At Thursday’s board meet, while Kotak was elected as the non-executive chairman, the directors appointed Vineet Nayyar as vice-chairman and managing director, subject to the approval of the NCLT.
The board also reconstituted four statutory committees as required under the Companies Act. These included the audit committee, the nomination & remuneration committee, the stakeholder relation committee and corporate social responsibility committee and appointed members on each of these panels.
Briefing reporters, Kotak said the new board will take all necessary steps to preserve the value of the group and its subsidiaries. He added that the board will meet regularly to draft a road map for the future for the systematically important entity. They also plan to meet the shareholders, including LIC, Orix Corporation of Japan, the SBI and Central Bank, at an appropriate time.
“The board undertook an assessment of the ground reality and the way forward. The board will meet frequently to implement the direction of the NCLT and prepare a road map. We are committed to an objective process to make a fair assessment of facts, acting in the interest of different stakeholders,’’ Kotak said.