Air India bidders' identities will be confidential

The identities of bidders for national carrier Air India will be confidential and will be shared with specific agencies in national interest only on government advice.

EY, the government's transaction advisor on the divestment, will have the details of potential buyers, Mint reported citing a statement from the Department Of Investment And Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

"Each of the potential bidders will be assigned a code by the transaction adviser. All activities including due diligence, site visits, bidding, etc, shall be performed using the code only," DIPAM, part of the Ministry of Finance, said.

"A non-disclosure undertaking should be signed by the potential bidder, inter alia, undertaking that the entity and its employees shall not reveal the identity and/or contact any member of the CPSE (central public sector enterprise) or the administrative ministry/DIPAM, and also keep the data/information of CPSE (shared as part of transaction) strictly confidential."

This is the government's second attempt at selling its stake in the airline, a process that has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government hopes to complete the Air India sale process in FY22.