Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, while addressing a press conference in Delhi on Thursday, 29 August, said, “The government's determination to privatise Air India is a given. We have to get the best possible deal and get it in the shortest time available. People are very much interested in acquiring Air India.”
He added, “Whoever acquires Air India will be very fortunate and will be able to run it according to strong private sector principles.”
He also empasised on the “alternate mechanism,” saying, “A group of ministers, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting to prepare the ground. Now, the next meeting will take place in the month.”
Talking about the government’s efforts to privatise, he said, “We will not do any wavering of any kind as was witnessed earlier. We will have an agenda, and then it will be a quick affair.”
Earlier, on 23 August, Oil marketing companies (OMCs) stopped the supply of fuel to Air India at six airports due to non-payment of dues.
A senior airline official had, however, said that flight operations are normal and unaffected.
(With inputs from ANI)
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