A case of swadeshi privatisation

Air India's privatisation is acceptable as long as its control does not pass on to a foreign entity.

The Union government’s decision on Monday to invite preliminary bids for the sale of 100 per cent equity of the state-owned airline, Air India, raises several issues, whose implications for economic policy in the country need to be fully understood. There is no doubt that the release of the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) for the sale of shares in Air India shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to the idea of privatisation. But what kind of privatisation has Mr Modi chosen for Air India? 

There is a mistaken notion that Mr Modi, by deciding to privatise Air India, has adopted