Government Has Revival Plan For Air India, Says Jayant Sinha
The government has prepared a revival plan for Air India that provides for a comprehensive financial package, differentiated strategies for each of the airline's core businesses and robust organisational reforms, Union Minister Jayant Sinha said on Thursday. Various initiatives to turnaround the national carrier, which is staying afloat on a bailout package extended by the previous government, including monetisation of real estate assets are progressing. Mr Sinha told the Lok Sabha that the government has prepared a revival plan for Air India which focuses on building a competitive and profitable airline group.Â
A comprehensive financial package, including transfer of non-core debt and assets to a Special Purpose Vehicle, implementation of a robust organisational and governance reforms by the board and differentiated business strategies for each of the core businesses of Air India are part of the plan.  Â
"Higher levels of operational efficiency by strengthening management and implementing best business processes," are among the major elements of the plan, Mr Sinha said. The minister of state for civil aviation also said that Air India has planned to monetise its unutilised and surplus immovable real estate assets over the next few years.Â
"Till date, Air India has realised an amount of Rs 410 crore through sale of its non-core assets in various cities in India and abroad. "Air India has also realised a rental income of Rs 314 crore approximately," he said during the Question Hour.Â
The minister also said that amount of revenue likely to be generated from monetisation of land and properties depends on the bid process and subject to no-objection certificates from authorities concerned. Air India is estimated to have a debt worth over Rs 55,000 crore. In a written reply, Mr Sinha said the government remains committed to the disinvestment of Air India.Â
"In this regard, AISAM has directed to separately decide the contours of the mode of disposal of the subsidiaries -- Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) and Airline Allied Services Ltd (AASL)," he noted. The Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) has also approved the contours for sale of subsidiaries of Air India and has directed to expedite the sale of AIATSL, the minister added.
-
One El Nino, India Can Handle. Two Could Break The Granary
India's grain stocks can absorb one bad year, but a second El Nino could drain the buffer in two to three years, economists say.
-
India's Troika Of Good Luck | Joining The Dots
As Jensen Huang's exit drags Nvidia down, a cooling AI trade and resilient earnings have revived investor interest in India. A likely RBI rate hike looms.
-
Talking Points This Week: Leadership Shock At Nvidia, Earnings Strength, And The Fog Over Hormuz
The Anthropic IPO pricing and first trading day, Nvidia's upcoming earnings, and any fresh signals from Iran will set the tone for the following week.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
