{"id":32086,"date":"2018-10-29T12:34:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T07:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=32086"},"modified":"2018-10-29T12:34:55","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T07:04:55","slug":"ready-for-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ready-for-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready for sale\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ready for sale<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Context<\/strong><\/p>\n

The decision to allow 49% foreign stake in Air India sets the stage for its privatisation<\/p>\n

A key change in FDI norms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Allowing up to 49% overseas ownership, including by a foreign airline, in Air India. This comes just a little more than six months after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod for a strategic disinvestment of the airline<\/p>\n

Significance of the move<\/strong><\/p>\n

It clears the decks for possible bidders such as the Singapore Airlines-Tata combine and Jet Airways \u2014 with its overseas equity and route partners \u2014 to make a more detailed commercial assessment of the investment opportunity the state-owned flag carrier presents<\/p>\n

Other key change in FDI norms<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other reform cleared by the Cabinet was the crucial decision to put 100% FDI in Single Brand Retail Trading under the \u2018automatic\u2019 route, accompanied by the long-sought relaxation of mandatory local sourcing norms<\/p>\n

A major issue: <\/strong>This had been a major issue with potential investors including Apple, which had repeatedly urged the government to take a more benign view given the level of technological advancement incorporated in its products and the difficulty in finding local sources of supply at the requisite scale<\/p>\n

Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n