Ahmedabad crash: Air India seeks Rs 10,000 crore lifeline from shareholders
Chennai: Air India is seeking approximately Rs 10,000 crore ($1.1 billion) in fresh financial support from its owners, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, as the airline struggles with the aftermath of the Ahmedabad air crash earlier this year, along with other operational and financial hurdles, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The airline has reportedly approached both shareholders for additional funding based on their respective stakes; Tata Sons holds nearly 75% of Air India, while Singapore Airlines owns about 25%. The funding could take the form of equity or an interest-free loan, with discussions still in progress.
The financial math worsened after one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner headed for London crashed immediately after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing all but one on board. The incident triggered intense regulatory scrutiny and forced a fleet-wide safety audit.
Further complicating matters, ongoing airspace restrictions due to regional tensions have led to longer flight routes, increasing operational costs. The ailing carrier is far from a goal of breaking even operationally by end of March next year after facing multiple setbacks, added the report.
The financial support is expected to help Air India scale up its own engineering and maintenance capabilities by building hangars at key airports in the country.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
