This refers to “Govt puts off debt-laden Air India stake sale, to revive loan recast plan” (June 20). The government’s decision to not go ahead with selling off 76 per cent stake in national carrier Air India could truly represent a virtual fall out of its continued ‘dithering’ over adoption of some rational approach towards the divestment process since inception. Interestingly, some ‘self-serving’ political considerations also prompted the government to make such a face-saving announcement. The failure to attract any bids till date could be found in its sheer keenness to ‘have the cake and eat it too’ in the wake of its unexplained stance over the retention or otherwise of 24 per cent share therein. It may be recalled that the government was also thinking on the lines of dropping its earlier condition to retain even 24 per cent share apart from issuing various clarifications to woo the prospective bidders by riding on the shoulders of a renewed ‘pro-clientele’ offer. However, its latest decision obviously nullifies that option now.
The government has already scored a self-goal by jumping into the fray without doing its home work properly. No wonders then that it is now toying with the idea of recasting the debt burden of the airline by hiving off a portion of the debt into a separate subsidiary. Ironically, nothing seems to truly work in its favour as this ill-fated national carrier continues to be in ‘red’ with no lights at the end of the tunnel too. But despite all this, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has categorically announced that the ‘the Centre is committed to provide adequate liquidity and financial resources to Air India’. But, for how long, remains the moot question.
SK Gupta New Delhi
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