Before the Air India airline was sold to Tata Sons, some subsidiaries were spun off from the group. These were not part of the privatization. Now the Indian government wants to turn this into money.

According to local media reports, preparations have been made to sell two of four former Air India subsidiaries. The first step is to examine the market potential and only in a second step to obtain expressions of interest from potential buyers.

The subsidiaries AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), AI Airport Services Ltd (AIASL), Alliance Air Aviation Ltd (AAAL) and Hotel Corporation of India Ltd (HCL) were excluded from the sale of the Air India Group to Tata Sons. These have remained in the holding company Air India Assets Holding Ltd and are therefore still state-owned.

The value of the four companies is estimated at around 1,8 billion US dollars. The government is aiming for these to be sold in their entirety. First, they want to privatize two companies and the other two will follow at a later date. The first public tender is expected in 2023.