Project Sashakt was proposed by a panel led by PNB chairman Sunil Mehta. Bad loans of up to ? 50 crore will be managed at the bank level, with a deadline of 90 days. For bad loans of ? 50-500 crore, banks will enter an inter-creditor agreement, authorizing the lead bank to implement a resolution plan in 180 days, or refer the asset to NCLT. For loans above ? 500 crore, the panel recommended an independent AMC, supported by institutional funding through the AIF. The idea is to help consolidate stressed assets.
According to the committee, banks will have to set up an AMC under which there will be multiple sector-specific AIFs. These funds will invest in the stressed assets bought by existing ARCs, such as ARCIL. The ARCs will use the funds to redeem security receipts issued to banks against the bad loans. Other AMC-AIFs and ARCs will be allowed to bid for these assets, and match the pricing offered by ARCIL or the national AMC. The AMC will be responsible for the operational turnaround of the asset.