Piling up: Air India debt rises Rs 5,000 crore in H1
The total debt and liabilities of Air India (AI) have risen to over Rs 45,500 crore at September end, up Rs 5,000 crore from the level seen after the April takeover of its Rs 29,464-crore debt by the Centre through a special purpose vehicle, sources told FE.
The increase over the first half of this fiscal is largely due to short-term loans, an official source said. At the end of last financial year, the state-run airline’s debt had stood around Rs 70,000 crore. The Centre was planning to make the ailing Air India virtually debt-free by taking over an additional Rs 20,000 crore from its books before offering its entire stake along with asset-backed loans of Rs 20,000 crore to the prospective bidders.
It is not clear whether the additional liabilities of Rs 5,000 crore would also be absorbed by the Centre before the sale.
