NEW DELHI: The Centre has allocated an additional Rs 51,971 crore towards the settlement of outstanding guaranteed liabilities of Air India in the Union Budget, following the successful disinvestment of the carrier.
“As against a total expenditure of Rs 34.83 lakh crore projected in the Budget estimates 2021-22, the revised estimate is Rs 37.70 lakh crore. The revised estimate of capital expenditure is Rs 6.03 lakh crore. This includes an amount of Rs 51,971 crore towards the settlement of outstanding guaranteed liabilities of Air India and its other sundry commitments,”
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during the Budget speech. Sitharaman said that towards the implementation of the new Public Sector Enterprise policy, the strategic transfer of ownership of Air India has been completed.
Moreover, the Centre has allocated Rs 9,259 crore to AIAHL, a government-owned special purpose vehicle set up to handle Air India’s debt and non-core assets, for the next financial year. As on August 31, 2021, Air India had a total debt of Rs 61,562 crore.