Govt seeks Parliament nod to infuse Rs 2,345 cr into debt-ridden Air India

Govt seeks Parliament nod to infuse Rs 2,345 cr into debt-ridden Air India

PW Bureau

The government also plans to pour Rs 1,300 crore into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which comprises of the national carrier's debts and non-core assets

New Delhi: The government has sought the Parliament's approval to infuse Rs 2,345 crores as equity into debt-ridden Air India (AI) and a separate sum of Rs 1,300 crore into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which comprises of the national carrier's debts and non-core assets. The Air India SPV holds Rs 29,000 crores of the Rs 55,000 crores debt and its non-core assets such as the wing that does ground-handling and land assets.

The last equity infusion was done by the government in September when it poured Rs 980 crore through supplementary grants in September.

The SPV has been formed with a purpose to liquidate the assets and get rid of the debt parked in the special purpose vehicle.

The last equity infusion was done by the government in September when it poured Rs 980 crore through supplementary grants in September. This was in addition to the Rs 650 crore set aside by the government for the airline during its Budget announcement.

The government had also provided sovereign guarantee to enable the debt-ridden airline to raise Rs 2,000 crore from banks, which Air India had availed. Besides, the airline had also raised Rs 1,000 crores from the National Small Savings Fund.

The Centre moved to bailout the airline after its plan to divest Air India failed to attract bidders in June this year. The disinvestment plan has, however, not been shelved and will be taken up once the airline's finances are in better shape.

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