Outcome, Milords, Not Process

When India jumped the ranks in World Bank’s

Ease of Doing Business index

, the spotlight was on startups, permits and digital clearances. But the evolution was something else entirely, a recognition that the real test of doing business is not entry but exit.
Before 2016, shutting down a failed company in India was like being trapped in the quicksand of endless litigation. The

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

(IBC) promised a way out. It handed over power to creditors, set strict timelines, and most importantly, promised closure. For decades, Indian entrepreneurs had been like Abhimanyu, skilled at entering the chakravyuh of enterprise, but fatally unprepared for a way out. IBC was meant to rewrite that script.