Modi renews vow to sell Air India after last attempt flopped

India will revive plans to sell Air India after an attempt to partially exit the loss-making carrier failed to find a single buyer last year. The high-profile divestment would be part of PM Narendra Modi’s efforts to raise 1.05t rupees ($15.3b) selling stakes in state-run companies, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her maiden budget speech on Friday. The administration will also look to sell other state-run companies or merge some of them, she said. “Strategic disinvestment would continue to remain a priority,” said Sitharaman, the first woman to hold the position. “The government would not only re-initiate the process of strategic disinvestment of Air India, but would offer more Central Public Sector Enterprises for strategic participation by the private sector.” Air India, which is surviving on a 300-billion-rupee taxpayer-funded bailout, has failed to maintain its market dominance as a slew of carriers started to offer ultra-cheap, on-time flights more than a decade ago. The airline has total debts of $8.4b and posted losses of more than 76b rupees last year, according to provisional estimates.<br/>