New Delhi: Weeks after the Air India chief stated that the airline’s financial situation was ‘grossly untenable’ for sustaining operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri clarified Tuesday that the national carrier, which is incurring a loss of Rs 20-26 crore daily, will keep on running till it is privatised.
“Air India is running. Air India will keep on running. But Air India has to be privatised because it is incurring a daily loss of Rs 20-26 crore. This is taxpayer’s money that can be more profitably spent,” Puri told reporters here.
It should be stated here that Monday, a senior official of the airline had old this agency that if it is not privatised soon it will stop operating from June.
While disinvestment-bound Air India’s net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore, its current total debt is around Rs 80,000 crore.
“We made an attempt two years ago. That attempt proved to be less than successful. We have learnt from that experience. It is our endeavour now that we will be issuing an expression of interest (EoI) in the coming few weeks. Hopefully, sooner than later,” Puri said. “We want an Indian entity, for strategic reasons, to acquire the company,” the minister added.
In 2018, the government had proposed to offload 76 per cent equity share capital of the national carrier as well as transfer the management control to private players.
However, the offer failed to attract any bidder when the deadline for initial bids closed May 31, 2018. Therefore, the Centre re-started the disinvestment process this year.
Talking to reporters, the minister said Tuesday that the government is not a ‘slave or victim of certain deadlines’ when it comes to the national carrier’s privatisation.
“We are doing it seriously. We had a meeting Monday for several hours. We will have a meeting of AISAM (Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism) in the coming weeks. Then, we will take the process forward,” informed Puri.
As the airline, over a period of time has accumulated a debt that ‘could be described as unsustainable’, the minister said, the Centre has to ‘now do privatisation’ and there are ‘no two views on it’.
PTI