September 14, 2017 TnH Global

Air India sale: Govt invites bids to appoint banks and lawyers to oversee disinvestment

Burdened by the debt amounting to more than Rs. 50,000 crore, the newly-appointed interim CMD said that steps would be taken to improve the efficiency of time, profitability and customer satisfaction.

As part of the disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries, the Ministry of Finance invited bids to appoint two financial advisors and one legal advisor to oversee the sale. The Union Cabinet and the Air India Board had approved to sell the carrier in June. Officials have said they want the process to offload all or parts of the airline by early 2018.

After the government announced privatisation of Air India, InterGlobe Aviation was one of the firms which showed interest in acquiring Air India in June. The government last month showed its intention to appoint “regular person” for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India and, on August 24, Rajiv Bansal was appointed as the interim CMD of Air India.

Burdened with an debt amounting to more than Rs. 50,000 crore, the newly-appointed interim CMD said that steps would be taken to improve the efficiency of time, profitability and customer satisfaction.

A former director in the civil aviation industry, Bansal was securing the post of Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser at the petroleum ministry prior to becoming the CMD of the national carrier.

News Source: indianexpress.com