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Air India sale on uncertain path, bidding likely to be deferred again

New global-standard bid conditions may still not yield optimum results for the government

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For the government, the bottom line is that Air India is now a distress sale

Arindam Majumder New Delhi
This year, the government has had to postpone bidding for Air India four times on account of the pandemic. A fifth postponement looks imminent. Ahead of that, the government has altered bidding conditions — the second change since the airline went on the block in 2018 — to allow prospective suitors to bid on the global norm of enterprise value. Will it alter the prospects for this ailing airline to find a buyer?
 
Covid-19 has certainly taken its toll. In January, for instance, as the Tata group’s full-service airline Vistara, a 51-49 venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, was