There has been a lot of interest in taking over Air India, says the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Puri. The minister was addressing a news conference. He said if felt needed, the government is willing to extend the deadline for submission of the expressions of interest (EoIs). He assured that the process itself was moving well. The first date prescribed was for the prospective bidders to submit their written queries. This was first fixed for February 11 after the government had released the EoI documents in the month of January. This date was extended to March 6. The deadline for the submission of the EoIs is now March 17. If one goes by the hint by the minister, this date may also be extended.
The government is now ready to divest its 100% stake in Air India. The debt to be taken over by the new investors will be ₹23,286.50 crore, against which there are the aircraft, the landing permissions in international destinations as well as the slots at the airports as assets. The government has imposed some conditions, like retaining the name Air India and to offer some kind of a security to the employees on their employment. The government has at the same time, relaxed the norms saying it will allow 100% stake by NRIs against the present norms which does not permit non-Indians to hold more than 49% in an airline.
Apart from this 100% in Air India, the government is also looking at divesting 50% in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services.
The biggest challenge for the government as things stand, is the situation created due to the coronavirus scare. It is no longer just a scare since around 3,500 persons have died due to the virus and many countries have been affected. The air travel industry has been hit very hard. Under these circumstances, finding an investor for Air India could become tough. Even if the government finds an investor, the pricing could become an issue.