Left favours 26% FDI in airport selloff

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is in favour of an FDI cap of 26 per cent in the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, within the 49 per cent assigned to private partnership.

Though the CPI(M) has already signalled its consent to allowing 49 per cent private participation in the modernisation of the two airports, it had said that the modalities of foreign participation were yet to be worked out.

In the light of the Communist Party of India's softer stance on the issue of private participation, the clarification from the CPI(M) has cleared the way for the government to go ahead on FDI in the civil aviation sector.

Senior Left leaders are, however, saying that the Left will not moot the issue with the ministry of civil aviation. "It is the government which will have to come up with a concrete proposal. If it meets out current demands, we will not oppose it," a senior CPI(M) leader said.

CPI(M)'s current stand on the privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports might also be construed as an attempt by the party to pre-empt the position of the CPI. The CPI has been more amenable to privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports and has expressed far lesser reservations for allowing FDI in the privatisation process.

CPI leader AB Bardhan has indicated that he is not opposed to the proposal for privatising the Delhi and Mumbai airports to bring it up to "international standards."

In exchange, the CPI had demanded the upgradation of the Chennai and Kolkata airports be handled by the Airports Authority of India. All along, however, Bardhan has maintained that the controlling stake be vested with the of the Airports Authority of India.

The present norms allow 74 per cent private equity participation in the privatisation process, with 49 per cent FDI. Twenty-six per cent is held by the Airports Authority of India.