In govt interest to protect jobs at Air India: FM Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that a "proper decision" would be taken on Air India's future and it would be in government's interest to protect jobs at the airline. Noting that the airline has debt of over ?50,000 crore, he said it is "not small" and "now we have to decide what has to be done with Air India".
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said a "proper decision" would be taken on Air Indias future in a competitive market and that it would be in the governments interest to protect jobs at the airline. His remarks come at a time when a group of ministers headed by him is working on the modalities for the divestment of loss-making Air India. In a competitive market, challenges are different and a "proper decision" would be taken on what Air India has to do in such a market, Jaitley said in the Lok Sabha. "Is mein karmchariyon ke services bachee rahen, is mein hamara bhi swarth hai (It will be in the interest of the government to protect the jobs at Air India)," he said while replying to a discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants. Noting that the airline has a debt of Rs 50,0000-55,000 crore which is "not small", he said, "now we have to decide what has to be done with the Air India". He also wondered for how long can tax collected from the public be given to the public sector airline. The previous UPA government had extended bailout package worth little over Rs 30,000 crore to the national carrier for a 10-year period starting from 2012. 