Entities with funds, ability to run Air India can bid: Finance Ministry

Any entity having adequate finances and ability to run Air India can bid for a 76% stake in the national carrier, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management secretary Neeraj Gupta said Thursday. The government had last month floated a preliminary information memorandum inviting bidders to buy 76% stake in loss-making Air India along with transfer of management control. An official in the finance ministry said there has been good response from entities in airline industry as well as corporates for buying stake in the debt-ridden national carrier. "We are not looking for only an airline to take over Air India... Anybody who has (required) net worth and funds can bid for Air India," Gupta said. The secretary said the government has kept financial capacity of the bidder as the main criteria for disinvestment of Air India. <br/>