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No new model for Air-India selloff: Shourie

Lola Nayar in New Delhi

The Indian government will not rework the ground rules for shedding its stake in the country's flag carrier, Air-India, if the Tatas withdraw from the scene, Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said Monday.

"If the Tatas eventually withdraw or cannot find any partners, we will not come up with an alternate model. It is not our job to go on manufacturing models and for other people to keep on shooting them down," Shourie, who was elevated to cabinet rank on Saturday, told mediapersons.

The Tata-Singapore Airlines alliance was the sole bidder left for a 40 per cent stake in AI after the Europe-based Hinduja group were disqualified as they are charged in corruption cases. SIA announced last week that it was pulling out of the race due to what it termed political uncertainties in India and undue delays in finalising the deal.

"If there are no bidders left in the fray for Air-India, we will report the matter to the Cabinet Committee on Divestment," Shourie said on the sidelines of a function to release his 17th book, Courts And Their Judgements.

The government plans to sell off 60 per cent of its stake in Air-India. Forty per cent will go to a strategic investor, who will be permitted to offload up to 26 per cent to a foreign airline. Twenty per cent is to be sold to employees of the airline and to financial institutions.

In the absence of a taker, he said, the airline may 'continue to grow or not grow. Maybe it will keep losing its market share or may even revive'.

Shourie was optimistic that the government would be able to disinvest its stake in four or five state-owned firms by September-October. These could include the Computer Maintenance Corporation, Hindustan Teleprinters Limited, eight hotels of the India Tourism Development Corporation and petroleum major IBP.

He also hoped that the divestment of international telephony provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd would get an impetus "with Pramod Mahajan there."

Mahajan, who holds charge of the parliamentary affairs and information technology ministries, was given additional responsibility of the communications portfolio in Saturday's cabinet reshuffle.

Shourie refused to comment on whether the government would realise its divestment targets, saying no levels had been set. "While everyone would like the process to go faster, unfortunately that is not the case in India," he said.

Indo-Asian News Service

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