Air India disinvestment: Deadline to submit bids extended to October 30

The government has extended the deadline for submission of expression of interest (EoI) in Air India to October 30. This is the fourth time that the dates for the national carrier’s disinvestment process, which began in January this year have been pushed.

The Ministry of Finance on August 25 said it has extended the deadline following requests from interested bidders, in light of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Also, qualified bidders will now be intimated by November 20, 2020, instead of September 14. Initially, March 17 was the deadline for the submission of preliminary bids. This was later pushed to April 30, then to June 30 and finally to August 31.

Air India, which is up for divestment, has been in the doldrums much before the pandemic hit the economy. The airline, which was already in a precarious position due to financial woes, saw its condition worsen further amid the pandemic and the associated economic fallout. The national carrier incurs a loss of up to Rs 30 crore a day. Its units Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd are also on the block.

After a failed attempt in 2018 to sell Air India, the government had restarted the process in January this year. However, it is now willing to completely exit the airline as opposed to the 75 percent stake in the airline up for grabs earlier.

To get more suitors, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on March 4, 2020, gave a go-ahead to non-resident Indians (NRIs) to own 100 percent stake in Air India. Till then, NRIs were allowed to invest only up to 49 percent in Air India.

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