After selling the Maharajah

Privatisation of Air India should lead to a downsizing of the aviation ministry and other regulatory reforms

The Narendra Modi government’s decision last month to privatise Air India was an important milestone. The decision signified the launch of the Modi government’s privatisation programme and marked the first outright sale of a state-owned enterprise in the last 18 years. It was a difficult transaction, given the huge debt Air India had piled up over the years. No doubt the government got very little money from the sale and is now left with the debt that has been transferred to a newly created holding company. But the daily bleeding of the Centre’s finances by about Rs 20 crore should