What Happened to Videocon? How India's TV King Ended Up in Insolvency
Updated 10 November 2026. If you grew up in India in the 1990s, there is a good chance the family TV or washing machine said Videocon. Three decades later the company is a case number in the Supreme Court. This is how India's consumer-electronics king ended up in insolvency, using court records and dated reports.
The short answer
Videocon grew from Toshiba-licensed colour TVs into a conglomerate spanning appliances, oil, telecom and DTH, funded with heavy bank debt. When telecom licences were cancelled and loans soured, the group entered insolvency in 2018 with ₹64,839 crore of admitted claims. A ₹2,962 crore rescue was overturned in 2022, and the Supreme Court is still deciding.
Videocon in numbers
Milestone / metric | Figure | Date | Source |
Videocon Industries incorporated | – | 4 Sep 1986 | Company website |
Insolvency admitted (SBI petition) | 13 group companies, consolidated | June 2018 | NCLT order |
Claims filed | ₹71,433.75 crore | CIRP | NCLT order via Indian Express |
Claims admitted | ₹64,838.63 crore | CIRP | NCLT order via Indian Express |
Liquidation value | ₹2,568.13 crore | CIRP | NCLT order via Indian Express |
Twin Star (Vedanta) plan | ₹2,962.02 crore (~4.15% recovery) | Approved June 2021 | NCLT order |
Plan set aside by NCLAT | – | January 2022 | Indian Express |
Supreme Court (CA 894/2022) | Arguments concluded, judgment reserved | 14 Oct 2026 | Supreme Court office report |
Sources: NCLT approval order, The Indian Express explainer, Supreme Court office report, Videocon company profile.
How did Videocon become India's TV king?
The Dhoot family, led by Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot and later his sons including Venugopal Dhoot, built Videocon in the early 1980s around a technical collaboration with Japan's Toshiba to make colour televisions, just as colour TV spread through Indian homes. According to the company's own history, the group dates to 1984 and Videocon Industries was incorporated on 4 September 1986. The company also claims to have introduced washing machines to Indian households.
Through the 1990s and 2000s Videocon used cheap manufacturing and a multi-brand strategy to cover every price point. In 2005 it went on a buying spree: it acquired Electrolux Kelvinator's Indian business in July 2005, gaining refrigerator plants and brand licences, and bought Thomson's colour picture tube business the same year.
Where did it go wrong?
The trouble started when a consumer-electronics company tried to become a conglomerate. Videocon moved into businesses that needed huge upfront capital and long payback periods:
Oil and gas: stakes including the Ravva field in India and exploration blocks in Brazil and Indonesia, which needed years of capex.
Telecom: Videocon Telecommunications won 2G licences, which were among those the Supreme Court cancelled in 2012 in the 2G case.
DTH and retail: Videocon d2h, later merged with Dish TV, and the PlanetM music retail chain.
Meanwhile its core business faced Korean and Chinese brands with deeper pockets, and the CRT televisions it was built on gave way to flat screens. Debt raised for oil and telecom kept growing while the businesses meant to repay it stalled.
What happened in insolvency?
In June 2018, NCLT Mumbai admitted Videocon Industries into the corporate insolvency process on a petition by State Bank of India, and 13 group companies were later consolidated into one process. Creditors filed claims of ₹71,433.75 crore, of which ₹64,838.63 crore was admitted, according to the NCLT order explained by The Indian Express.
The only plan to win creditor approval came from Twin Star Technologies, a Vedanta group company, offering ₹2,962.02 crore. NCLT approved it in June 2021 but remarked that Twin Star was paying "almost nothing": about 4.15% of admitted claims, a 95.85% haircut, against a liquidation value of ₹2,568.13 crore. In January 2022 the NCLAT set the plan aside and sent the matter back. Twin Star appealed to the Supreme Court.
On 14 October 2026, the Supreme Court heard Twin Star's appeal (Civil Appeal 894/2022), recorded "Arguments Concluded" and reserved judgment, according to the court's office report. Until it rules, Videocon remains under resolution professional Abhijit Guhathakurta. The company's FY25 audit report says its net worth is negative and it continues to incur losses.
What is the ICICI Bank-Videocon case?
Separately from insolvency, the Videocon name became tied to a criminal investigation involving former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar. Here is what is alleged and what courts have said, carefully separated:
The allegation: investigators allege that loans from ICICI Bank to Videocon group companies were sanctioned in violation of rules, and that ₹64 crore moved from Videocon to NuPower Renewables, a company linked to Deepak Kochhar, shortly after a ₹300 crore loan was disbursed in 2009. Chanda Kochhar left ICICI Bank in October 2018.
Arrests and bail: the CBI arrested Chanda and Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot in December 2022. In January 2023 the Bombay High Court granted them interim bail, finding the Kochhars' arrests were made without application of mind and granting Dhoot interim bail on similar grounds.
Money-laundering attachment: in July 2025 the PMLA Appellate Tribunal upheld the Enforcement Directorate's attachment of assets, describing the ₹64 crore transfer as a prima facie quid pro quo. This is an attachment ruling, not a criminal conviction.
Status: the criminal case has not concluded and no one has been convicted. Everyone accused is presumed innocent unless a court rules otherwise.
Page 21 analysis: three lessons from Videocon
Videocon's fall is less a story about TVs than about using a cash-generating consumer brand to fund long-gestation, regulation-heavy bets with borrowed money.
Diversification needs matching money. Oil exploration and telecom need patient equity, not bank loans priced for a durable-goods company.
Regulatory risk is real. One court ruling on 2G licences wiped out a telecom bet, a lesson familiar from Vodafone India's troubles.
IBC recovery depends on what is left. With assets eroding through years of litigation, the 4% offer looks like what remains of a business, not a bargain. Compare Reliance Capital's insolvency.
Quiz: how well do you know Videocon?
What happens next
Everything now hinges on the Supreme Court's judgment in Twin Star's appeal. If the plan is restored, banks recover about ₹2,962 crore; if not, the process continues, with liquidation a possibility. The criminal case in the ICICI matter continues separately. For another start-up-to-stress story, read why Byju's failed.
Related explainers
More from our series on why companies fail:
FAQ
What happened to Videocon?
Videocon Industries and 12 group companies have been in a consolidated insolvency process since 2018 after the group defaulted on bank loans. A ₹2,962 crore plan by Vedanta group's Twin Star was approved by NCLT in 2021 but set aside by NCLAT in January 2022; the Supreme Court reserved judgment on Twin Star's appeal on 14 October 2026.
How much did Videocon owe its creditors?
In the consolidated process, claims of ₹71,433.75 crore were filed and ₹64,838.63 crore admitted, according to the NCLT order reported by The Indian Express.
How much was Twin Star offering for Videocon?
₹2,962.02 crore, about 4.15% of admitted claims, a haircut of about 95.85%. The NCLT approved the plan but remarked that the buyer was paying "almost nothing".
Was Chanda Kochhar convicted in the Videocon case?
No. The CBI case over ICICI Bank loans to Videocon is pending trial and there is no conviction. In July 2025 the PMLA Appellate Tribunal upheld the Enforcement Directorate's attachment of assets, a civil step that is not a criminal verdict.
Is Videocon still listed?
Videocon Industries remains a listed company under a resolution professional and still files results; its FY25 audit report notes negative net worth and continuing losses.
Sources
NCLT Mumbai, order approving resolution plan (June 2021), via Videocon CIRP disclosures
The Indian Express, Why NCLT thinks Vedanta is getting Videocon for "almost nothing"
Business Standard, Vedanta arm paying almost nothing for Videocon, says NCLT
Supreme Court of India, office report for 15 Oct 2026 (CA 894/2022 order of 14 Oct 2026)
ThePrint, Bombay HC order granting bail to Chanda and Deepak Kochhar
The Indian Express, Bombay HC grants interim bail to Venugopal Dhoot
The Indian Express, Appellate Tribunal upholds ED attachment in Kochhar case
Related on Page 21
This article summarises public court records and news reports. Allegations in pending cases are unproven; no finding of criminal guilt has been made.
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