Air India stake sale: Panel headed by Arun Jaitley to oversee process

Senior Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal and Ashok Gajapathi Raju will be part of a 5-member ministerial panel headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley tasked with deciding the process of privatising Air India, which may start by December. The committee's brief is to finalise the structure and procedure of privatising the debt-laden carrier. The govt wants the process to be finalised speedily and bidding to start within 6 months, an official said. "The mood in the govt is that the process should get underway quickly," said the official. The Union cabinet cleared the divestment of loss-making Air India and 5 of its subsidiaries last Wednesday. It said the ministerial panel will decide on how much stake will be divested and the universe of bidders — whether a foreign company can bid. <br/>