Arvind Panagriya, Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, said that the government is likely to act on the privatisation of national carrier Air India within six months. Panagriya said the airline’s debt was “simply not sustainable”.
“I think really where Air India stands now, it is almost a matter of existence. The debt is already about Rs 52,000 crore (and) we are adding of Rs 4,000 crore debt every year so this is simply not sustainable,” he told CNBC-TV18. “In the end, I think the airline does need to go with management in the private hand.”
His remarks come a day after reports had said that the Tata Group is interested in buying stake in the airline. The Niti Aayog had recommended privatising the airline earlier, after which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley confirmed that the aviation ministry would plan its privatisation.
The earlier Congress-led government had bailed out Air India with a Rs 30,000-crore package.
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