New Delhi: The Union Finance Ministry on Friday asked the transaction adviser (TA) for Air India divestment to strictly maintain the confidentiality of the potential bidders.
"The Transaction Advisers should strictly maintain the confidentiality of the potential bidders from all persons including persons in Government including the CPSE and non-Government. However, if required, information may be shared with specified agencies in National interest upon an advise by the Administrative Ministry in writing," stated Ministry of Finance's Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.
"Each of the potential bidders shall be assigned a 'Code' by the Transaction Advisor. All the activities including due diligence, site visits, bidding etc. shall be performed using the 'Code' only," it added.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Monday said that the privatisation of national carrier Air India Limited will be completed during the upcoming financial year 2021-22.
Currently, the Tata Group and an employee consortium are among interested parties that have submitted expressions of interest (EoI) for the airline.
DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had earlier said that the government has received multiple expressions of interest for the strategic disinvestment of Air India.
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Meanwhile, the government on Friday informed the Parliament that Air India is yet to receive Rs 4,918.17 crore from several government departments, including the due from various VVIP operations.
In a response to the question by Congress MP Manish Tewari over disclosure of details about Qualified Interested Bidders (QIBs) who have responded to the Expression of Interest (EOI), Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said, "As per the eleventh corrigendum issued in this regard, post completion of the evaluation of the EOIs received, the Transaction Advisor will directly intimate the QIB in relation to their qualification and the next steps for the proposed transaction."
