Sources have said that the Central Government is considering a plan to exclude more than half of Air India Ltd’s $11 billion of debt in their latest test attempt to lure investors to the struggling carrier.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to ask proposed investors to take over Rs 30,000 crore of the airline’s debt, which are backed by the carrier’s aircraft, sources said. The Government may call for the so-called expression of interest as early as December 15, they added.
Modi’s administration, which failed to attract any bidder for the carrier last year, is keen to sell the company to help bridge a widening fiscal deficit following dismal tax collections and cuts to corporate tax rates worth $20 billion.
