Business News
Air India privatisation: This is Narendra Modi govt’s plan to make ailing national carrier attractive for buyers
The Narendra Modi government has chalked out a plan to make the debt-laden Air India attractive for buyers and facilitate its strategic sale, according to a report on Bloomberg. For the purpose, the Modi government wants to transfer non-aviation assets and short term loans of Air India worth Rs 30,000 crore or $4.7 billion to a separate company.
Successive governments have failed to either bring the state-owned flier out of the debt mess or sell it to private players as its huge debt of Rs 60,000 crore, $7.6 billion, has kept possible buyers at bay. In the past, Tata Group that had founded the airline had showed interest in buying the carrier but the move was stalled after the issue was politicised.
Authorities concerned, according to the report, hope the bidding process of Air India will likely start on 31 March, 2018. The whole exercise is being carried out to facilitate smooth sale of Air India that was extended Rs 30,000 crore bailout package by the erstwhile UPA government.
If the government removes Rs 30,000 crore from the airline’s total debt exposure of Rs 60,000 crore and shifts it to some other entity, it wold mean it was absorbing the working capital loans of Air India. In May 2014, Modi rose to power on the promise that his government will implement the idea of “minimum government and maximum governance”. Getting Air India out of the debt mess would be another feather to Modi’s cap.
