Air India privatisation: Govt to start roadshows in Singapore this week

Agencies
November 11, 2019

New Delhi, Nov 11: The government will start roadshows for privatisation of ailing state-run Air India this week in Singapore with Disinvestment Secretary T.K. Pandey along with senior aviation ministry and Air India officials to brief the prospective buyers for complete stake sale in the airline.

Sources said Pandey will be in Singapore this week along with senior aviation ministry and Air India officials to meet prospective bidders, address their concerns on Air India debt position, employee issues, and start the roadshows.

There are possibilities now for Air India Expression of Interest (EoI) to be floated this month after this meeting. The national carrier has a debt of Rs 57,000 crore and the bids will be invited for 100 per cent stake.

Once the roadshows start, this will mark the start of privatisation of Air India at the ground level, sources said.

Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola and Air India management have been discussing with the trade unions assuring them of security even after privatisation. The unions are opposed to privatisation fearing job losses.

As part of efforts to clean up the balance sheet of Air India before stake sale, around Rs 30,000 crore of its debt is proposed to be repaid by way of proceeds from the issuance of bonds by its special purpose vehicle, Air India Asset Holding Ltd (AIAHL).

AIAHL has already garnered a total of Rs 21,985 crore by way of bond issues and the proceeds would be utilised to pare the debt of the national carrier. It has an employee strength of 20,000 and has a market share of 13 per cent.

Last year, the government had floated the EoI for Air India for 76 per cent stake sale but it did not get a single bidder. Recently, the Cabinet approved changes in the process of disinvestment where the prospective bidders will be heard in the roadshows before EoIs are floated so their concerns are addressed while drawing up the Expression of Interest and government gets investors' interest in the CPSEs (central public sector enterprises).

The Air India stake sale also did not get any response last year as investors feared government interference with the remaining 24 per cent stake, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation had said in a report. Now that hurdle has been removed.

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

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that he supported a negotiated peace deal between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Gen. Rawat was speaking along with other world leaders at Raisina dialogue organised by India's influential think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

Arguing that terrorism was going to stay in the world as long as states were going to use it against other states, he said it was important to prevent states from using terrorism as a "proxy war".

"The only way to deal with it was what the US did post 9/11," he said, adding that the war against terror was necessary.

However, now a peace deal with Taliban is required, Gen. Rawat said.

"It must be a negotiated peace deal so that the Taliban stops using terrorism," he added. Hinting that the US should maintain its presence in Afghanistan, the CDS said that though Afghan security forces are now equipped to fight back terror groups in Afghanistan but they still need support.

The newly appointed CDS officially confirmed that India has shifted its stance on Taliban. India has traditionally been opposed to the Pakistan-backed Taliban in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans were given refuge in India when they fled the country due to oppression and terrorism of the Taliban regime. India is in alignment with the democratically elected government in Kabul that the Taliban remains supported by Pakistan.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: India on Tuesday reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases and 204 deaths in the last 24 hours as the country's virus count inches closer to two lakh, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 1,98,706 including 97,581 active cases, 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,598 deaths.

Cases in Maharashtra have crossed 70,000 including over 30,000 recovered while Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally jumped to 23,495.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Patna, Jan 25: JD Women's College in Patna has issued a direction to the students to follow the prescribed dress code on the campus while stating that wearing a 'burqa' in college is prohibited.

"All students have to come to college in the prescribed dress code, every day except on Saturday. Students are prohibited from wearing 'burqa' in college", reads a notice signed by the Principal and Proctor of the college.

The college administration has also imposed a fine of Rs. 250 for violation of the norm.

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Abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 26 Jan 2020

I think this college management will allow girl students to wear tight jeans + t-shair and miniskirts but is not allowing a girl to cover her body.    Are we in ancient days where humans had no dress to cover themselves or in the time of Nair kings in kerala who restricted ladies of low caste from covering their chest.     

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