Air India: Divestment of govt stake unlikely this financial year

If privatisation is decided upon, the first cabinet approval will be an in-principle approval

Discussions around privatising Air India might have picked up steam but actually divesting in the carrier will be a long-drawn process, requiring multiple Cabinet approvals.

Senior government officials who are part of the deliberations said, at least two approvals of the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could be necessary, and that any dilution of the Centre’s stake was highly unlikely this fiscal year.

If and when privatisation is decided upon, the first Cabinet approval will be an “in-principle” one. This will set the stage for the finance and civil aviation ministries to start the process of valuation