New Delhi: India aims to sell two or three state-owned firms to local or foreign firms to raise up to ₹60, 000 ($8.5 billion) by March 2020, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Monday.

The government planned to sell Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, logistics firm Container Corp of India Ltd and debt-laden Air India before the end of the 2019/20 financial year, the official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.

A group of ministers, led by Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday set the ball rolling on disinvestment of state-owned Air India. This is the second attempt of the Modi government to sell Air India after a previous attempt failed to generate any interest.

Officials aware of the deliberations in a meeting of AISAM on Thursday said the agenda was to seek a formal political approval for the re-initiation of the privatisation process.

A group of ministers led by Home Minister Amit Shah is set to meet on Thursday to discuss Air India privatization as the government looks to reduce its stake in the state-run carrier. The panel, which will have Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, will discuss key issues relating to selling 100% stake in the airline,

Air India Assets Holdings Ltd (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle, has raised Rs 7,000 crore through a bond issue, which was subscribed nearly three times.

AIAHL had come out with its maiden bond issue for Rs 1,000 crore with an option to retain an additional subscription of up to Rs 6,000 crore. The bonds are fully-backed by the government.

New Delhi: Air India posted an operating loss of around Rs 4,600 crore in the last financial year mainly due to higher oil prices and foreign exchange losses but the debt-laden carrier expects to turn operationally profitable in 2019-20, according to senior officials.

New Delhi: Air India posted an operating loss of around Rs 4,600 crore in the last financial year mainly due to higher oil prices and foreign exchange losses but the debt-laden carrier expects to turn operationally profitable in 2019-20, according to senior officials.

The state-run carrier Air India is still the market leader to fly on international routes with more than double the capacity of rival IndiGo, the airline said on Monday. The clarity on the matter comes a day after a report said that the Maharaja has been pipped by IndiGo as the later “now has the largest share of international seats to/from India”, a consultancy firm, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), said in its report on August 31.

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday said the government will completely exit Air India, and there is already significant interest among prospective buyers for it. “Air India should be totally privatised. We have to get the best possible deal and we have to get it in the shortest possible time available,” Puri told reporters.

Reaffirming government’s plans to go ahead with the divestment of ailing national carrier Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep S Puri said that the “government is determined to privatise Air India”. Speaking at a press conference, the minister reiterated that it is not government’s business to run airlines and hence Maharaja must go to a private player. However, the Air India brand will remain Air India, he added.

MUMBAI: Air India Ltd is auctioning more than 60 real estate assets, including some it could not sell at its last auction in April, as the debt-laden national carrier makes a renewed attempt to raise funds.

The last date for submitting bids is 30 August, according to a tender document issued by the airline.

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