Air India plans to reduce its debt pile

Mumbai, November 20

Debt-ridden Air India has revived its plans to raise Rs 500 crore in short-term loans (STLs) besides mopping up another Rs 6,100 crore by way of sale and lease back of seven of its wide-body planes, including six Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft, an airline official said.

In early September, the airline had invited bids for raising Rs 500 crore through STL to meet its working capital requirements with September 10 as the deadline for submission of bids. However, the deadline was extended to October 31 after it failed to get any response.

At the same time, Air India managed to get Rs 1,000 crore from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) as loan and subsequently the plan to raise Rs 500 crore was put on hold.

“We did not pursue the proposal to garner Rs 500 crore in STL after receiving Rs 1,000 crore from the NSSF. We have now decided to resume the process once again,” said a senior Air India official.

Sitting on a debt pile of Rs 55,000 crore, which include Rs 35,000 crore towards working capital loans, the carrier has been struggling to raise funds since last year. — PTI