Choice "Between Disinvestment And Closing Down": Minister On Air India

Multiple entities had last month expressed interest in bidding for the government's stake in Air India.

Air India will be "100 per cent disinvested" and it "must find a new home", Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said today on the disinvestment process of the debt-ridden national carrier. He said prospective buyers have been given 64 days to come with their bids. "We've decided that Air India will be 100 per cent disinvested. The choice isn't between disinvestment and non-disinvestment. It's between disinvestment and closing down. Air India is a first-rate asset but has an accumulated debt of Rs. 60,000 crore. We need to draw the slate clean," Mr Puri told news agency ANI. "It must find a new home," he said. Multiple entities had last month expressed interest in bidding for the government's stake in the airline.