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Panel to discuss Air-India divestment issue tomorrow

The Cabinet Committee on Divestment, or CCD, will take up tomorrow the issue of government offloading in Air-India, civil aviation secretary Ravindra Gupta said.

The break-up of the Divestment Commission's proposal to offload government's stake in Air-India by 51 per cent will also be decided by CCD, Gupta said after addressing a conference on air transport, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or FICCI.

Meanwhile, FICCI vice-president A C Muthiah urged the government to put a cap of foreign equity participation in Air-India to 25 per cent and the remaining 26 per cent should be offered to Indians and non-resident Indians, or NRIs.

Muthiah also urged the government to allow private domestic airlines to fly international routes.

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav said that the revised draft of the aviation policy will be put on the Net.

Based on the feedback received on the new draft, the government will finalise a new civil aviation policy, he added.

The minister said the new policy will address the problem of opening up civil aviation to all regions by promotion of general aviation and operation of small aircraft operations.

In this regard, the government has already decided that air turbine fuel will be made available at international prices with a cap of sales tax of 4 per cent.

The present policy by the government to lease airports will be extended in due course to other airports as well.

Gupta clarified that the Civil Aviation Authority, proposed to be set up in the draft policy, will be a regulatory body and not a judicial one.

UNI

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