Ahead of a ministerial panel meeting on February 9, lenders to state-owned Air India have backed a new proposal wherein they have agreed to a provisioning of Rs 7,500-odd crore over the next 15 years, provided the government shells out Rs 10,000 crore of interest payments. The Group of Ministers’ (GoM) meeting is likely to deliberate on the financial restructuring plan of the beleaguered carrier and also discuss the Civil Aviation Ministry’s proposal on allowing foreign carriers to pick a 49 per cent stake.
If the government agrees to the lenders’ demand, the total bailout package for Air India may see an upward revision of around Rs 10,000 crore from the original estimate of Rs 30,000 crore, said top sources. The new proposal marks a departure from the previous plan approved by the panel and the RBI. They had given their nod to conversion of short-term working capital loans of Rs 7,500 crore into cumulative preferential shares and had given the carrier more time to repay the remaining debt of approximately Rs 14,000 crore, according to a report by Indian Express. |