**Pawan Hans strategic disinvestment called off as winning bidder disqualified**
– The Centre has decided to cancel the strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans, the largest helicopter service provider in India, due to pending legal cases.
– The successful bidding consortium, Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd, was disqualified, leading to the cancellation of the sale process.
– Pawan Hans is a joint venture between the government and ONGC, with the government holding a 51% stake.
– In April 2022, the government had approved the sale of Pawan Hans to Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd for Rs 211.14 crore.
– The sale process was halted in May after it was discovered that the lead member of the winning bidder consortium had a pending case at the National Company Law Tribunal.
– The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) stated that Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd is disqualified from the strategic disinvestment process, and the current Expression of Interest (EoI) process stands annulled.
– Pawan Hans has been incurring losses over the past three years, with the worst loss of around Rs 70 crore in FY18-19. It showed improvement with losses of around Rs 18.5 crore in FY19-20 and Rs 17.6 crore in FY20-21.
– The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved Star9 Mobility Private Limited’s bid to purchase the government’s 51% stake in Pawan Hans for Rs 211 crore.
– Questions were raised about the privatisation of Pawan Hans and the identity of its new owner, as little information was available about the consortium’s stakeholders.
– This is not the first instance where the sale of government assets to private companies by the Modi government has faced scrutiny.
Source: [The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/business/pawan-hans-sale-called-off-winning-bidder-disqualified-8698914/)
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