Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away here on Saturday, was a champion of economic freedom in India and that history would also remember him as the main author of ‘the defaulter’s paradise is lost’, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairman, M.S. Sahoo has said.
Speaking to BusinessLine, Sahoo said that Jaitley had ushered in freedom to carry on business and freedom to exit from business, through the Competition Act 2002 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 respectively.
Economic reform typically endeavours to provide economic freedom at three stages of business. The reforms in India in the 1990s focused on freedom of entry. While the reforms in the 2000s focused on freedom to carry on business, the reforms in the middle of this decade focused on freedom to exit, the ultimate freedom, Sahoo, who is the insolvency regulator, said.
Jaitley had played a critical role in ensuring that businesses get the freedom to carry on business and also freedom to exits through the IBC.