NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from potential buyers to acquire a 76 per cent stake in the debt stricken national airline. This move appears to be a step closer to privatizing state-run Air India.
The government plans to sell the stake in the airline on the condition that its control will vest with Indian entities and the brand name Air India is retained. It will also sell 100% of its low-cost international carrier Air India Express Ltd and a 50% stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd, an airport ground-handling joint venture. Out of the 24% stake the government will be left with in Air India, it will offer employee stock options to the airline’s employees.

The civil aviation ministry has invited expressions of interest from interested parties by 5 pm on May 14. The sale will help the government achieve its ambitious Rs.80,000 crore disinvestment target for the next fiscal year and rid it of the necessity of infusing yearly bailout funds into the airline, laden with Rs48,781 crore of debt at the end of March 2017.
For customers, Air India in private hands is expected to offer better services and respond swiftly to changing market conditions. One reason for Air India’s poor financial performance are delays in decision- making under a bureaucratic set-up and the red tape it entails. This is expected to change after the sale. “The idea of the sale is not to make revenue, but to make the company more efficient and agile,” said a civil aviation ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.