NEW DELHI: The government will soon review the plan for strategic disinvestment of Air India, Union Minister Jayant Sinha said today, a day after the centre said it has decided to put the stake sale in the national carrier on hold.
A plan is also being worked out by the Air India board and the situation is under review, Mr Sinha told reporters today. The government is committed that Air India remains an independent, globally-competitive and a highly-successful airline, he said.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said the government will review its plans to privatise Air India at a later date. The centre in March had announced a plan to divest a 76-per cent stake in Air India and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt. However, the airline failed to receive any interest from bidders.
The government, under the proposed plan, was to sell 76 per cent stake in Air India along with complete divestment of low-cost arm Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd - an equal joint venture with Singapore's SATS. But centre dropped the plan because it felt it wasn't a good idea to privatise the airline in an election year, news agency PTI reported citing a top official.
The decision to put the Air India stake sale on hold was taken at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday. The centre after the meet also said Air India would soon get funds from the government for its day-to-day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft.
A plan is also being worked out by the Air India board and the situation is under review, Mr Sinha told reporters today. The government is committed that Air India remains an independent, globally-competitive and a highly-successful airline, he said.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said the government will review its plans to privatise Air India at a later date. The centre in March had announced a plan to divest a 76-per cent stake in Air India and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt. However, the airline failed to receive any interest from bidders.
The decision to put the Air India stake sale on hold was taken at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday. The centre after the meet also said Air India would soon get funds from the government for its day-to-day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Mumbai To London Air India Flight Returns Due To Technical Glitch Air India Flight Suffers Bird-Hit At Goa Airport, Take-Off Aborted "Just No Empathy": Bengaluru Woman Slams Air India Over Rescheduled US Flight, Airline Responds Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death Delhi Experienced 15 Consecutive Days Of Rainfall, Says Weather Department Pilot Dies After Plane Crashes During Aerobatic Show In France "Vandals, Scandals Marring Civic Life In Bengal": Governor On Kolkata Rape Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.