The ministry of civil aviation is in the last stages of preparing the modalities of disinvestment of state-run helicopter operator Pawan Hans and will send its proposal for evaluation ‘within a week’, a senior official said on Wednesday. In October last year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment of profit-making Pawan Hans.
The Centre holds 51 per cent stake in the chopper firm while another state-owned giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation owns the remaining 49 per cent.
“We will be sending our proposal to an Evaluation Committee, which will then forward it to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
“The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) at DIPAM will then look into our suggestions,” a senior ministry official told reporters. The official added that the proposal from the ministry would be sent ‘within a week’. A meeting was also held today at the ministry on this issue where both Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha were present.