it was Saturday. Last day, another bidder – billionaire Hinduja The brothers – had to withdraw after their bid was red-flagged by the Law Ministry, saying they did not meet the strict guidelines set by the government to participate in the privatization process. With the exit of SIA, only Tata was left in the fray and efforts were made as determined by the then Minister of Disinvestment. Arun Shourie crashed down.
Years rolled by. Political opposition, vested interests and bureaucratic lethargy stymied any attempt to sell the loss-making giant. The airline continued to pile up debt and services.
In 2017, NITI Aayog was asked to prepare a list for privatization of state-run firms. A senior official of the government’s policy think tank spoke to TOI. Several times during the conversation the officer asked why Air India should be sold. But he never explicitly mentioned that any recommendation was made. After arguing for a long time. We decided to take the story forward.
A few months later in May 20I7 the then Finance Minister Arun JaitleyWhile participating in Doordarshan’s show ‘Teen Saal Modi Sarkar’, the government revealed plans to privatize Air India. Jaitley said that in 1999-2000, during his brief stint as disinvestment minister, he had said, “Please disinvest Air India, otherwise there will be nothing left for disinvestment.”
Jaitley then said the government was open to the idea of adding a strategic partner for Air India and the civil aviation ministry was exploring all possibilities. As they say, it was ‘breaking news’. Soon, the process of selling 76% in Air India, Air India Express and AISATS was started. But ultimately no bidders came forward as investors were not interested in an airline where the government still had some stake.
Finally, a third attempt to sell the airline was launched in 2019. The government made it clear that it wanted a 100% exit from the airline and also sweetened the deal to make it attractive to investors.
This is a summary of the ups and downs of over two decades in the Maharaja’s journey to escape the bandh. But it piled up a mountain of debt. Now, the government has finally been able to sell the airline. Fly safely with your new owners and old mates, Air India
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