AI to get additional equity of Rs 5,500 crore: FM

The public sector air carrier, Air India will get an equity infusion of Rs 5,500 crore in 2014-15, as per the interim budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament on Monday.

Air India has been allocated Rs 5,500.10 crore as equity infusion during the year, with the total plan allocation for the Civil Aviation Ministry standing at Rs 5,720 crore and its non-plan expenditure estimated at Rs 657.98 crore.

Chidambaram pointed out in his budget speech that seven new airports are currently under construction.  The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was provided with a budgetary support of Rs 74.7 crore, including Rs 22 crore for construction of a new airport in the hilly region of Pakyong in Sikkim.

This “token” provision was made to AAI towards its share of the foreign travel tax collected by the government. The scheme was discontinued in 2001 following which the state-run airports body was allowed to levy passenger service fee.

Budgetary support of Rs 50 crore was earmarked for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to pursue Plan schemes, including training projects, IT and e-governance projects, construction of a DGCA Bhavan and setting up of a Joint Training Academy.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security was allocated Rs 40 crore for procurement of security and IT items along with radiological detection equipment. A provision was also made for restructuring BCAS and construction of its headquarters.