Air India: How the government got rid of the albatross around its neck

Air India's sale process will be used as a case study for future asset sale and privatisation bids

Three prime ministers, two aborted missions, multiple rule changes and two decades later, India has finally been able to execute the country’s most complex asset sale — privatise its national carrier, Air India. 

“What is different about the process this time is that bureaucrats got complete independence to run the show. The finances of the government were stretched so thin, especially after Covid-19, that there was a message from the political masters to treat it as a distress sale. Close the deal before the company stops being a going concern, we were told,” said an official involved with the process.