Govt. to Provide 1200 Cr to Air India
Hoping to infuse fresh life into the cash-strapped Maharaja, the government will provide Rs. 1200 crore to Air India during the next fiscal. The funds, promised in the annual budget, will be over and above the Rs. 800 crore equity infusion approved by the government last month.
“The government has committed for Rs.1200 crore for Air India in the annual budget. We will discuss this issue with the government after April 1,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was quoted as saying Wednesday.
“This will be over and above Rs.800 crore ($160 billion) equity infusion which was approved by the government last month for Air India,” he added.
The Minister was speaking to the media, on the margins of the International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation, in Hyderabad.
The funds, said Patel, would help the airline address cash flow issues and fuel its fleet acquisition plans. But, warned that the government cannot ‘indefinitely’ continue to pump funds into the national carrier.
Patel said that the airline will have to generate profits to keep it going.
Amid the ongoing global slowdown, the state-run Air India has posted Rs.7,200 crore losses in the last two financial years.
The equity infusion of Rs.800 crore was approved after the airline adopted a turnaround plan.
