India's Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said expression of interest (EoI) documents for the proposed privatisation of Air India may be issued "in the coming few weeks", adding: "For us it is not an option, it has to be privatised" (IANS/Live Mint/PTI/The Hindu BusinessLine, 31-Dec-2019). Mr Puri said: "Air India is a good asset, but the debt of the airline is not sustainable". He also described Air India as "a national asset" and added: "We want an Indian entity to acquire it for strategic objectives". Regarding the expected outcome of privatisation, Mr Puri commented: "The government will make money. The government does not want to give it on a sizzling platter".
EoI documents for Air India privatisation to be issued in the coming weeks: Minister
2 January, 2020