The Government’s attempt to sell a stake in Air India — its second such effort in 17 years — came to nought as no bids were placed for the national carrier even on Thursday, the last day for submission of bids.

In 2001, the Atal Behari Vajpayee government’s attempt to shed a stake in the airline had met with a similar fate.

“The Government did not receive any bids. The current process cannot go forward,” said RN Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation. The Government was looking to offload 76 per cent in the airline.

Choubey said the Government hopes to call for fresh bids in the next couple of weeks, after the matter is taken up by the Administrative Mechanism (AM), comprising the Ministers of Finance, Civil Aviation and Roads.

The Secretary hinted at changes to the terms and conditions when fresh bids are called for, saying the “entire exercise has been a major learning experience”. “We are in a better position to understand what the market wants. There could be a rethink as the existing architecture has not worked,” Choubey said.

He, however, added that a final decision on these matters would be taken by the AM.

The Secretary said the Government wanted to retain a 24 per cent stake in the airline as it would like to “benefit from the upside”. He said the government had tried its best to convince the market that it would only have the rights of a minority shareholder.

The Government’s decision to retain a 24 per cent stake, and the fate of the airline’s workforce are said to be two key reasons why there was no interest in Air India.

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