Govt plans hiring professionals for Air India top positions through global search: Suresh Prabhu
New Delhi, Dec 30 : The government plans to rope in professionals for top positions at Air India through a global search process, as part of efforts to revive the national carrier, according to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu.
With the proposed strategic stake sale of the Air India failing to take off in May this year, the government has been working on various initiatives, including hiving off a significant chunk of over Rs 55,000 crore debt into a special purpose vehicle, to turn-around the ailing airline.
Against this backdrop, the government is now actively considering the proposal to professionalise Air India management.
Talking about steps for reviving the national airline, Prabhu said there are plans for complete professionalisation.
"I have already ordered a global search for professionalisaton of Air India completely. All top positions in Air India should be filled by some sort of a global search. That proposal is now under active consideration of the government," the minister told PTI in an interview.
A source in the know said the government plans to set up a search committee that would look for aviation professionals from across the world who can brought to Air India.
Currently, the national carrier -- which is staying afloat on taxpayers' money -- has nine members on the board, including two officials from the civil aviation ministry.
The chairman and managing director is senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola while two well known businessmen -- ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla -- are independent directors on the board.
Ravinder Kumar Tyagi, Syed Zafar Islam, Daggubati Purandeswari are the other independent directors.
Air India Director (Finance) Vinod Hejmadi as well as Civil Aviation Ministry's Additional Secretary Gargi Kaul and Joint Secretary Satyendra Kumar Mishra are also part of the board.
Prabhu said debt is one of the biggest problems for revival of Air India, adding that the civil aviation ministry is already working with the finance ministry to address the issue.
The carrier is estimated to have a debt burden of over Rs 55,000 crore and about Rs 29,000 crore is to be transferred into an special purpose vehicle.
On December 27, the Civil Aviation Ministry told the Lok Sabha that the government has prepared a revival plan for Air India.
A comprehensive financial package, including transfer of non-core debt and assets to a special purpose vehicle, implementation of robust organisational and governance reforms by the board and differentiated business strategies for each of the core businesses of Air India are part of the plan.
"Higher levels of operational efficiency by strengthening management and implementing best business processes" are among the major elements of the plan.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
