AISAM likely to take key decisions on Air India divestment on Saturday

New Delhi, Oct 23 : The Centre’s top group of ministers looking into Air India divestment is slated to meet on Saturday with the agenda ranging from extending the process to allowing greater debt re-structuring.
These key decisions might come at a time when the divestment deadline of October 31 is fast approaching.
The meeting of the AISAM (Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism), headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, will be conducted via video conferencing. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal amongst others, will be participating.
As per sources, extending the deadline for submission of initial bid or expression of interest (EoI) till December is on the cards.
Another significant change that might be put forth for AISAM’s approval will be a change in the deal’s financial structure, especially concerning the airline’s debt.
Under this change, sources said that the bidders would be given the option to decide on the quantum of debt on the Air India books that they will like to absorb rather than freezing the debt amount and seeking investors’ bids.