Air India divestment: Govt will keep paying lenders through SPV as per repayment period, says DIPAM secretary

After the Tata Sons won the bid for the national carrier, the Centre on Friday said the government will keep paying the Air India lenders through the special purpose vehicle (SPV) as per the repayment period.

As a part of the deal, the Tata Group will take over the debt of Rs 15,300 crore, and will pay Rs 2,700 crore in cash. The remaining Rs 44,000 crore debt will be transferred to a government SPV, which already carries Rs 22,000 crore of debt transferred earlier. The share purchase agreement allows the Tata's for mergers among their airlines and the government intends to complete the transaction by December.

In an exclusive interview with Sapna Das, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary of DIPAM said, "Repayment to the lenders will be taken care of. One of the ways is the novation of guaranteed bonds. If Air India is paying to the lenders with a government guarantee, the lenders can agree that Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) will pay it to the lenders with the government guarantee. So it is a novation. So it means that the government of India will keep on paying through AIAHL to the lenders as per the repayment period.