Air India sale: Sweeteners galore for the bidders in govt's new EoI

Prospective buyers can now sell off the airline after a year, require reduced net worth to be eligible and don't need to have shown profits in the past to be eligible for bidding

After a failed bid to sell off India’s national airline Air India in 2018, the Modi government has issued a new expression of interest (EoI) on January 27, 2020. The new terms inviting bids are considerably lenient than the previous ones and have caused consternation in various circles. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Subramanium Swamy has likened the new terms as an attempt “to sell the family silver” and has threatened to challenge the new EoI legally.

The Modi government wants to sell Air India, Air India Express and Air India SATS (AISATS). This time the government has proposed to