Government of India proposes to infuse Rs 1,200 crore into Air India

Berlin, June 11 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has said that the Centre would infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore into Air India over the next few months.

Interacting with media on the sidelines of the annual summit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here, Patel said the government's decision is an attempt to review national carrier's performance to decide on the future course.

He, however, said there was no decision to divest government equity in the cash-strapped national carrier at the moment.

In 2009, the Union Government gave the airline Rs 800 crore as equity.

Commenting on merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines, Patel said the ministry still studying how the equity infusion performs.

He said officials of all airlines attending the summit have opined that "mergers do not happen overnight. It is an ongoing process which has to be achieved over time. Air France-KLM have taken six years. Nobody has said merger is a one-day process."

Commenting on strengthening of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Patel said the government was considering granting it full autonomy and support the regulator in its functioning. (ANI)