- Sunday, April 28, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
A “HEALTHY” Air India is good for the country and its brand would gradually be restored to its past glory following its privatisation by the government, SpijeJet chairman-and-managing director Ajay Singh on Thursday (7) said.
When asked by the Press Trust of India whether he has bid for India’s debt-ridden national carrier in a personal capacity, Singh refused to divulge saying, “Well, you know, we have a confidentiality agreement with the government. So, I can’t really speak about the Air India bid.”
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Sources have said that financial bids put in by Singh and the Tata Group for Air India were opened in September and were vetted by ‘Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment’ headed by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on September 29.
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Two days later, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary to the department of investment and public asset management, a government department responsible for privatisation, tweeted that the government is still to approve the financial bids for Air India and the media would be kept posted whenever it took place.
When asked about how he sees the Indian aviation market going after Air India is taken over by private hands, Singh said, “It is hypothetical but of course a healthy Air India is good for the entire country and we believe that with the takeover or the privatisation of Air India, it will be a healthier airline and the brand of Air India would slowly be restored to the glorious brand it was.”
He said this on the sidelines of the 77th annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association, a global airlines body, in Boston, the US, which concluded earlier this week.
The government is seeking to sell 100 per cent of its stake in the state-owned national airline, including Air India’s 100 per cent shareholding in Air India Express Ltd and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.
The stake sale process, which started in January 2020, faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous attempts since 2017 failed to generate any significant interest and after receiving feedback from potential investors, the government had in October last year eased the clause relating to the transfer of the carrier’s debt to the new investor, giving the bidders flexibility to decide on the huge debt they want to absorb.
