Bids for Air India disinvestment expected by September 15: Minister
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Bids for 100% stakes in Air India, its subsidiary Air India Express and 50% in joint venture AISATS are to be expected by September 15, minister of state for civil aviation Vijay Kumar Singh told Parliament on Thursday. He said there will be a 10% reduction in reserve prices of 16 of the airline's properties as previous attempts of auctioning them failed to attract bidders.
Singh said for the airline's disinvestment process, movable assets are to be transferred to the new owner. He added immovable assets are being monetised to offset the debt of Air India.
Singh gave the information in response to queries from lawmakers Manish Tewari (Congress) and Mimi Chakraborty (Trinamool Congress).
In March, Hardeep Singh Puri, the then civil aviation minister, said Air India had accumulated a debt of ₹ 60,000 crores and that it would be completely disinvested. He added the choice was between disinvesting the airline or closing it down.
The privatisation was to be completed by late May or June, but the pandemic led to the delay.
Singh also listed the measures being taken to safeguard the interests of Air India's employees and their families affected by Covid in response to Congress lawmaker Ravneet Singh Bittu's question about relief measures for them. He added 3,523 Air India employees were affected by Covid-19 and 56 of them have died until July 14.
