AIR INDIA will possible be handed over to the Tata Group on January 27 with the disinvestment course of reaching the ultimate levels, in accordance with the airline’s officers. The airline’s steadiness sheet was finalised and shared with the Mumbai-based conglomerate on Monday, and the corporate is predicted to overview it by Wednesday, following which the switch will likely be made.
On October 11, the central authorities had issued the Letter of Intent (LoI) to the Tata Group, confirming its willingness to switch 100 per cent stake within the airline. At the time, the anticipated timeline for switch was set for December-end. This was prolonged to January-end on account of assorted pending approvals from world regulators and finalisation of the steadiness sheet by the lenders and the airline’s lessors.
The cut-off date of the steadiness sheet has been set at January 20.
In a communication to the airline’s staff on Monday, Air India’s Director, Finance, Vinod Hejmadi wrote: “The disinvestment of Air India is now decided to be on the 27th January, 2022. The closing balance sheet as on 20th January has to be provided today, 24th January, so that it can be reviewed by Tatas and any changes can be effected on Wednesday”.
“We have done an excellent job till now in providing all support for the disinvestment exercise. The next three days will be hectic for our department and I request all of you to give your best in these last three-four days before we get divested. We may have to work late in the night to complete the task given to us. I seek the cooperation of one and all,” he wrote.
The Indian Express has reviewed the communication.
In October, the federal government had introduced that the Tata Group positioned the profitable bid for 100 per cent stake in Air India at Rs 18,000 crore, of which Rs 15,300 crore was the debt part and Rs 2,700 crore was the money part to be paid to the federal government.
The last steadiness sheet has been ready with approvals from the varied regulators, lenders and lessors of the airline. This steadiness sheet, offered to the Tata Group, is predicted to account for the Rs 20 crore loss being incurred by Air India each day, until the cutoff date of January 20.
The Indian Express reported Sunday, citing an RTI response, that authorities departments and ministries had pending funds to Air India including as much as Rs 278.49 crore until October final 12 months. This included Rs 244.78 crore from over 700 authorities departments and sections as of September 2021 and Rs 33.71 crore in the direction of VVIP flights as on July 27, 2021, as per the info.
It additionally included dues from the Prime Minister’s flights of Rs 7.20 crore and the President’s flight dues of Rs 6.14 crore. The airline has already begun recovering pending dues from authorities departments – it had recovered Rs 30.38 crore as of November 30 final 12 months.
