Amit Shah to head ministerial panel on Air India sale, Gadkari dropped
New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah will head a reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on Air India disinvestment and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been dropped from the panel, sources said.
The panel, which is to work out modalities for sale of Air India, will now have four ministers - Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
When the panel, named Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), was first constituted in June 2017, it had five members and was headed by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The other four were the then Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
According to the sources, the GoM was reconstituted after the Modi-2.0 government came to power and Gadkari is no longer part of the panel.
"The AISAM has been reconstituted. It is now a four- member panel, against five members earlier," a source told PTI.
In its first term, the Modi government invited bids from investors in 2018 to buy out the government's 76 per cent stake in Air India, along with management control. However, the process failed as investors did not put in their bids.
Following that, transaction advisor EY prepared a report citing probable reasons that led to failure of the sale process.
The reasons cited include the government retaining 24 per cent stake and corresponding rights, high debt, volatile crude oil prices, fluctuations in exchange rate, changes in macro environment and restriction on bidding by individuals.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has already prepared a fresh proposal for Air India sale, incorporating issues like crude oil prices and exchange rate volatility, and other issues flagged by EY last year.
The government, the sources said, could this time around sell its entire 100 per cent stake in Air India as it aims to conclude the sale process by December 2019.
However, a final call on the quantum of stake to be offered to investors and the right time for floating the expression of interest would be decided by the newly constituted AISAM, a source said.
The AISAM would be meeting soon, most probably after the conclusion of the ongoing Parliament session on July 26.
The government in Budget for 2019-20 has set a record high disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore, up from Rs 85,000 crore raised last fiscal.
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31 students test positive during anti-drug screening drive in educational institutions in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Thirty-one students tested positive during an anti-drug screening drive conducted in educational institutions in Vijayanagar area of the city, police said on Thursday.
The drive was conducted as part of Karnataka State Police department's newly introduced initiative called "Sanmitra" aimed to address the serious issue of drug addiction, which has been severely impacting the youth across the state, they said.
This initiative aims to adopt a transformative approach to find solutions and take compassionate steps towards building a drug-free society, police said.
According to police, as part of this directive, on March 4, under the leadership of DCP West Division Yatheesh N, inspections related to drug consumption were conducted within the limits of Vijayanagar Sub-Division police stations under Bengaluru City Police Commissionerate.
With the consent and no-objection certificates obtained from the management of six educational institutions and two hostels, inspections and checks were carried out.
"Urine samples were collected from more than 1,200 students, out of which 585 samples were randomly tested, and 31 samples were found to be positive," police said in a statement.
The operation was conducted with the full cooperation of officers and staff of local police stations, along with doctors, technicians, and staff from nearby hospitals, police said.
Necessary arrangements will be made to provide counseling with mental health professionals and to ensure required medical support for those in need, they said.
The identity and family details of individuals tested will be kept strictly confidential, police assured.
