Govt to infuse additional Rs 1,200 crore equity in Air India

Berlin: Government would infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore into Air India over the next few months and review its performance to decide on the future course, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.
He, however, said there was no decision to divest government equity in the cash-strapped national carrier "at the moment".
"It is imperative that we assess the situation after (a total of) Rs 2,000 crore is infused as equity. Rs 1,200 crore will be given in the next few months," Patel said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual summit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here.
Government, as Air India's owner, last year gave the airline Rs 800 crore as equity.
Asked whether government was mulling divesting its stake in the ailing carrier, he said "at the moment, the decision is not to disinvest and we stand by the policy of the government. Government's decision is to have a national carrier and it shall continue to be so."
On whether government would consider a "course correction" regarding the merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines following criticism from several quarters, Patel said "no, nothing of the sort. We have to make sure that it works well. We have to see how it performs (after the equity infusion). There has been no government subsidy to Air India".
11/06/10 PTI/Times of India

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Categories: NACIL Jun 2010