NEW DELHI: Top diplomat-turned-politician and now Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri will have a mount of issues to deal with as he takes over the crucial ministry from Suresh Prabhu, who has been dropped from Cabinet this time.
The three immediate issues Puri would have to face will involve overseeing the revival of defunct Jet Airways, steering debt-ridden Air India’s divestment and implementation of an ambitious Udan scheme.
After taking charge, Puri held a meeting with senior officials who briefed him about the promises made in the sector and the challenges ahead. “I will meet you once I get to know about the sector,” Puri said.
Owing to severe financial crunch, Jet suspended its operations over a month ago. The grounding of Jet Airways created a sort of panic in the aviation market. Airfares went up, capacity fell and thousands of Jet employees lost their jobs.
The exercise by lenders to find new investor(s) to revive Jet is moving at snail speed. On Friday, officials at SBI are said to have met the aviation secretary to take a final decision on the fate of the airline in the next two weeks.
Puri will also have to deal with the debt of national carrier Air India and make it attractive for investors. Surviving on a bailout package of over Rs 30,000 crore, last year’s attempt to sell off Air India’s 76 per cent equity failed miserably. There is a buzz that the government is now looking to reinitiate the divestment process.