Airports Authority of India allowed to exercise mini-ratna powers

New Delhi: The government Tuesday appointed HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, industrialist Sajjan Jindal and architect Hafiz Contractor as non-official directors of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), allowing it to exercise powers of the “mini-ratna” status conferred on it last month.
With the new appointments, the state-run airports operator can now exercise its powers of autonomy in terms of investment in projects and can also form joint ventures (JVs).
According to guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) - which confers mini-ratna status on state-run units - the category-I mini-ratna company (as is now the case of AAI), is allowed to incur capital expenditure on new projects, modernisation, purchase of equipment without government approval up to Rs.3 billion (Rs.300 crore), or equal to its net worth, whichever is lower. Currently, AAI has to seek government approval for any project exceeding Rs.1.5 billion (Rs.150 crore), said the government.
According to sources, the restructuring of the AAI board has been pending for a year.
13/01/09 IANS/Newspost Online

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Jan 2009