Debt relief is any form of debt reorganisation which relieves the overall burden of debt. Debt relief is achieved in cases where there is a reduction in the present value of these debt service obligations and / or a deferral of payments due, thereby providing lower debt service obligations in the near term. This can be measured in most cases by calculating the increase in the duration of these obligations: payments become more concentrated in the latter part of the life of the debt instrument concerned. However, if the reorganization of debt leads to changes in present value and in the period that has a compensatory effect on the debt burden, there is no debt relief, unless the net effect is significant, such as if there is a significant reduction in the present value (A slight increase in duration) or a sharp increase in duration (together with a slight increase in present value).