Right time to restart Air India privatization

The Department of Investment and Asset Management (DIPAM) believes that time is ripe for the government to initiate the process of privatizing Air India Ltd. The government continues to be optimistic about attracting private investors despite the fact that it failed to obtain a single bid when it first offered to sell a stake in Air India in May’18. What has deterred the potential investors so far is the concern on the level of management control that they would have post purchasing a stake. The government is likely to retain a 24% stake and all attendant shareholder rights available to it under law, instead of opting to remain as a minority financial investor.