Govt clears hurdles for Air India bids
New Delhi/IBNS: The end to the woes of trouble-torn Air India could be close as the government approved the draft for inviting bids for a stake sale in the national carrier, reports said, adding that the document inviting the bids will be out before the end of Jan.
In another major development, Rs60,000 crore of Air India's debt was approved for transfer to a special purpose vehicle(SPV) by a high-powered group of ministers and senior government officials, in a meeting reports said.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Home Minister Amit Shah, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.
As of now, Rs 29,000 crore has been transferred to the SPV.
According to media reports, Air India incurs a loss of around Rs 26 crore every day. In the past decade, the losses have swelled to Rs 69,575.64 crore, mainly due to a large workforce, and the government's obligation to maintain connectivity with loss-making routes.
In 2018-19, the carriers net loss is provisionally estimated at Rs 8,556.35 crore, a livemint report said.
The government owns 100 per cent stake in Air India. Despite the losses, industry experts claim that Air India has huge potential to turn into a profit-making establishment in the hands of a private player, reported livemint.
The fleet, staff and slots owned by Air India are of the highest standard, and after the debt provisioning the potential bidders may take interest, the report added.
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