"As on 31.12.2020, the total Air India dues against various Government Departments on account of airfare including dues towards VVIP Operations were Rs 498.17 crore," the GoI said in a written reply in Lok Sabha
The Supreme Court has allowed certified manufacturers to produce green crackers, but restricted their sale in Delhi-NCR without approval. The court has asked the Centre to review the ban on firecracker manufacturing in the region.
Re-rating of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Container Corporation, Shipping Corporation, SAIL, and Hindustan Copper, for which the government has already shown intent to divest its stake, possible now, say analysts.
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and private equity firm Warburg Pincus will collectively acquire a 49 per cent stake in Haier Appliances India, the local unit of China's Shandong-based Haier group, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction, according to industry sources, values the company at about 15,000 crore.
The government in January restarted the divestment process of Air India and invited bids for selling 100 per cent of its equity in the state-owned airline, including Air India's 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Limited and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.
British Airways, Lufthansa, Etihad and Singapore Airlines are scouting for an Indian partner that meets the net worth criterion
The government has notified the agreement between Air India and special purpose vehicle AIAHL for the transfer of non-core assets, ahead of the national airline's takeover by the Tata Group. The government had in October last year, inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. The Tata Group is expected to take full control of the airline, it founded in 1932, on Thursday. The cash component of the deal would come once the handover process is completed. The Tata Group would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt.
No other corporate house in India is in a better position than Tata group for the takeover of debt-laden airline Air India, former deputy chairman of erstwhile Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday. Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of the state-run airline but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. "You can't have a better corporate, with a better position than the Tatas, we can hand it (state-run airline Air India) over," he said while replying to a question in a virtual event.
Changing tracks helps. But, not taking the beaten path isn't always helpful. This is the story of two of India's biggest privatisations - Air India and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). Nearly two decades after the last privatisation, a landmark divestment concluded this year when the loss-making national carrier Air India was sold to the Tatas.
Air India's debt burden is estimated to be more than Rs 50,000 crore, besides huge accumulated losses.
Though the airline has kept a reserve price of Rs 315 crore for these properties, it hopes to make around Rs 500 crore from the sale.
The timeline for disinvestment of Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may be pushed by two to three months due to impact of the second Covid-19 wave. However, the government is confident of wrapping up the sale of the two companies by FY22 and meeting the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 trillion. This will be achieved by sale of government stake in core and non-core public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Tata Sons on Thursday announced the appointment of Campbell Wilson as chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. Wilson is the founding CEO of low-cost airline Scoot.
Air India has planned to monetise its unutilised and surplus immovable real estate assets over the next few years.
In a bid to resurrect Air India privatisation, the government is planning to give flexibility to potential investors to decide on the humongous debt with the national carrier, a top official has said. The flexibility to potential investors on the quantum of the Rs 60,074 crore debt that they want to absorb will replace the current condition of the buyer taking over more than a third of the debt and transferring the rest to a special purpose vehicle, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
The central government has agreed in-principle to Air India employees' main demands. It fears an industrial dissension now could impede the process of privatisation. It has agreed to bear the cost of liquidation loss on account of transfer to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from company-owned trusts, inclusion of employees in the central government health scheme (CGHS), and encashment of leaves. The template of the Air India process will be followed for other public sector undertakings up for privatisation at a later date.
The Air India board met on Monday afternoon to consider the candidature of Ilker Ayci and after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India, Tata Sons said in a statement.
The Air India board met on Monday afternoon to consider the candidature of Ilker Ayci and after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India, Tata Sons said in a statement.
'If you are selling family silver, and if you are not getting the right value, then what is the point?'
Divestment-bound Air India is looking to sell securities of its two provident trusts AIEPF and IAEPF, and has sought applications for transaction advisors to help with the proposed sale of the securities. The Air India Employees Provident Fund (AIEPF) trust and Indian Airlines Employees Provident Fund (IAEPF) trust are governed by the Provident Fund Trust Act, 1925. The two trusts' investments together amounted to Rs 4,500 crore as of August 31, 2021, according to the tender document, seeking RFPs for the appointment of the transaction advisors.
In March 2020, soon after the cessation of airline operations globally and domestic flights within India, many in the aviation sector had written Delhi-headquartered low-fare airline SpiceJet's obituary well before that of most of its rivals. Unlike IndiGo, GoAir (now rechristened Go First), Vistara and even AirAsia India, SpiceJet did not have founders or backers with deep pockets. Although it is the only other listed carrier in India besides IndiGo, it was considered the weakest and the least likely to survive the pandemic. But chairman and managing director Ajay Singh surprised everyone by not only surviving but taking the lead on many fronts. Within a few weeks of the scheduled flight stoppage, SpiceJet was doing as many charter flights as it could get hold of.
The government on Wednesday asked ministries and departments to clear dues of debt-laden Air India immediately and henceforth purchase tickets only in cash. The government earlier this month decided to sell Air India to Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, for Rs 18,000 crore. The Department of Expenditure, under the Finance Ministry, in a 2009 order, had said that in cases of air travel (both domestic and international), including LTC where the Government of India bears the cost of air passage, the officials may travel only by Air India.
Air India is awaiting the Union civil aviation ministry's nod to sell its properties in Mumbai and Chennai
With over 700,000 annual passengers and 21 per cent market share Air India is the largest carrier on India-United Kingdom routes.
The industry is hoping the Tatas deepen their dive and offer two stable airlines -- a Vistara merged into Air India servicing the international routes, and an AirAsia India merged with Air India Express that competes with the low fare airlines in India and offers destinations within five hours, says Anjuli Bhargava.
'Air India's privatisation is acceptable as long as its control does not pass on to a foreign entity,' says A K Bhattacharya.
The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to set aside the Air India divestment process on the allegation that the methodology adopted by the government in the valuation of the national carrier was "arbitrary, illegal and against public interest". The order was passed by a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh. The court said a detailed order will be uploaded. "Dr. Subramanian Swamy, sir we are dismissing this matter...," the bench said.
Tata Group's takeover of loss-making national carrier Air India is most likely delayed by a month till January as the completion of procedures taking longer than expected, an official said on Monday. In October, the government accepted the highest bid made by a Tata Sons company for 100 per cent equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company AISATS -- the first privatisation in 20 years. At that time, the government had stated that it wanted to complete the transactions, which included Tatas paying Rs 2,700 crore in cash, by December end.
But selectively, with regulatory scrutiny and special approval, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Apple commenced the sale of its newly launched iPhone 17 series across India on Thursday, prompting large crowds and long queues outside Apple flagship stores in Mumbai and Delhi, as tech enthusiasts gathered to be among the first to purchase the latest devices.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
Akasa Air's standalone net loss rose 18.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to roughly Rs 1,983 crore in 2024-25 (FY25), driven by rising employee costs, aircraft maintenance and airport charges, and a sharp increase in foreign exchange (forex) expenses, sources privy to the development told Business Standard.
Last October, the national carrier sold five planes of the same type to Etihad Airways for about $350 million.
According to officials, more clarity might be required with regard to foreign fund managers in the context of Air India divestment.
An Air India plane that took off for Kyiv in Ukraine on Thursday morning to bring back Indians from the eastern European nation is returning to Delhi due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace amid the Russian military offensive.
Overall economic activity continued to hold up in November with demand conditions remaining robust, thanks to strengthening urban demand, but manufacturing and rural demand showed some signs of deceleration even as services remained strong, according to an article on the State of the Economy written by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials in the central bank's December bulletin.
Air India will very soon get funds from the government for its day to day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft
Air India owns 32 aircraft, and has 37 aircraft on finance lease; Air India Express owns 17 aircraft on finance lease. The aircraft-related debt of Air India is Rs 16,000 crore; it's Rs 1,100 crore for Air India Express.
To attract potential suitors, the government will ease asset valuation norms for Air India by allowing bidders to put in offers on an enterprise value basis, a source said on Monday. To begin with, the government is likely to further extend the deadline for putting in a preliminary expression of interest for the loss-making national carrier to December 15. The source said bids will be sought on an enterprise value basis - a popular valuation methodology for takeover deals.
Once installed, the LAIRCAM system increases crew-warning time, decreases false alarm rates and automatically counters advanced intermediate range missile systems.
