Which of the following statements best describes the term ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)’, recently seen in the news?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) It is a scheme of RBI for reworking the financial structure of big corporate entities facing genuine difficulties.
S4A was a scheme of the Reserve Bank of India that gave banks a way to rework the financial structure of entities in genuine difficulty that needed deep, co-ordinated restructuring of their debt.
- ✓ (b) The RBI describes S4A as an avenue for reworking the financial structure of entities facing genuine difficulties and needing co-ordinated deep financial restructuring, which may involve material write-down of debt.
- ✗ (d) S4A was put in place by the Reserve Bank as its own scheme for banks. It is not a provision of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which is a separate law.
- ✗ (a) S4A is a banking tool for stressed loans and has nothing to do with the ecological costs of government projects; option (c), disinvestment of PSUs, is also unrelated.
- • Since then In the exam year the scheme was live. On 12 February 2018 the RBI's revised framework withdrew S4A, along with several other restructuring schemes, with immediate effect.
Remember · S4A (RBI): a scheme to rework the debt of stressed companies facing genuine difficulty. Withdrawn by the RBI on 12 February 2018.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, 4 October 2016 (Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets) ↗ “The Reserve Bank has put in place a ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets’ (S4A) in order to provide an avenue for reworking the financial structure of entities facing genuine difficulties and requiring co-ordinated deep financial restructuring.”
- Reserve Bank of India: Resolution of Stressed Assets – Revised Framework, 12 February 2018 ↗ “Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) stand withdrawn with immediate effect.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·