The 75-year-old founder of Zee and chairman of the Essel Group just got the National Company Law Tribunal’s nod on his personal insolvency plan. Creditors who had claimed around Rs 22,006 crore from him will get roughly Rs 6.5 crore in total. That’s about 0.03 per cent recovery — a haircut of nearly 99.97 per cent. Sounds shocking when you first hear the numbers, right? But the full story is a bit more layered.
Chandra wasn’t the one who borrowed those thousands of crores in his personal name. He had stood as a personal guarantor for loans taken by various Essel Group companies. The companies themselves have already repaid something like Rs 43,000 crore out of the original Rs 45,000 crore they owed. What’s left is the personal guarantee liability, and the tribunal accepted that his current personal assets simply don’t stretch further.
In a recent video message, Chandra sounded calm, almost philosophical. He said the last Rs 6.5 crore he has will go towards the settlement plan. He’s living off the rental income from a small house he still owns. “I have no regrets,” he told viewers. “I will earn again. I am a pioneer. I know how to do good and new things.”
And here’s the part that feels almost cinematic. Instead of disappearing or licking his wounds quietly, the man who started Zee TV is already talking about his next chapter — in Switzerland. He plans to work with some friends there who handle investments. “Right now, I have a plan to work with my friends in Switzerland who do investment work. I will give you the details in the next 1-2 weeks,” he said. He might even borrow Rs 2-4 crore from family members to put into a few promising start-ups he believes can take off.
It’s hard not to pause at that. This is the same person who began with just Rs 17 in his pocket decades ago and went on to create one of India’s biggest media houses. He talked about how his businesses once supported around 8,000 families and how, over a career spanning more than 50 years, he estimates he has contributed tens of thousands of crores in interest and payments back into the financial system. Now he’s ready to roll up his sleeves again, even if it means starting smaller and leaning on people who still believe in him.
Of course, not everyone is celebrating. Some creditors, including LIC Housing Finance, had strongly opposed the plan. They argued the recovery was too meagre. But the majority — over 80 per cent by voting share — had already approved it earlier, and the tribunal ultimately cleared it. The principal borrowing companies remain responsible for their own remaining dues, so this isn’t a complete wipe-out of the original loans.
What strikes me most is Chandra’s tone. There’s no bitterness, no long list of excuses. He admits mistakes were made back when the group’s liquidity crisis hit around 2018-19. Assets were sold, stakes reduced, houses even put on the block. Now he’s looking ahead. A job or collaboration in Switzerland’s investment world, a few family loans for start-ups, and the quiet confidence of someone who has built from scratch before.
Whether this Switzerland chapter turns into something substantial remains to be seen. He has promised more details in the coming weeks. For now, it feels like a man who once reshaped Indian entertainment is simply refusing to write the final page of his story just yet. He’s choosing to begin another chapter instead — one that starts far from the familiar boardrooms of Mumbai, in the quieter, more measured atmosphere of Swiss investment circles.
It’s a reminder that even after the biggest setbacks, some people still look for the next opportunity rather than the exit door. Subhash Chandra, it seems, is one of them.
Sources:
NDTV, NDTV Profit, The Economic Times, Business Standard, India Today, The Hindu BusinessLine, CNBC-TV18, Outlook Business, Rediff, Wikipedia (updated entries on Subhash Chandra and the 2026 NCLT proceedings).
@Rohit Manral
