New Delhi Jan 27 PTI The government has settled over Rs 61000 crore of Air Indias legacy debt and other liabilities that were left in AIAHL -- the company holding residual assets and liabilities of the airline -- ahead of the transfer of the national carrier to the Tata Group a top official said on Thursday The airline had a total debt of Rs 61562 crore as of August 31 2021 Of this the Tata Group took over Rs 15300 crore and the rest 75 per cent or around Rs 46000 crore was transferred to a special purpose vehicle AI Asset Holding Ltd AIAHL AIAHL also held Air Indias non-core assets such as stake in Hotel Corp of India HCIL paintings and artifacts and immovable properties In an interview with PTI Tuhin Kanta Pandey Secretary Department of Investment and Public Asset Management DIPAM -- which ran the Air India privatisation process -- said Parliament had last month given nod for spending of Rs 62057 crore towards equity infusion in AIAHL for repayment of dues and liabilities of Air India Of this broadly about Rs 61131 crore has been used to repay the entire debt and other liabilities such as fuel dues to oil companies he said The interest outgo on the debt and other liabilities was very high and it was decided tosquare off the debt now As of August 31 2021 the airlines total debt stood at Rs 61562 crore out of which around Rs 46000 crore was transferred to AIAHL The airline also had about Rs 15000 crore excess liabilities towards unpaid fuel bills and other operational creditors So the debt and liabilities with the government was around Rs 61000 crore Both excess debt and excess current liabilities whatever was remaining with the government about Rs 61131 crore have been cleared Pandey said Whatever was to be borne by the government that the government has squared off rather than paying it off later we found that it is carrying higher rate of interest It wasnt worthwhile to retain it and pay it off later If we take it to AIAHL and pay it later we have to pay higher rate of interest So we have chosen to square it off straight away he said Tata Group was in October last year announced as the winning bidder for Air India with a bid amount ofRs 18000 crore Tatas have paid Rs 2700 crore cash and taken over Rs 15300 crore of the airlines debt The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS Tata Group has already refinanced its Rs 15300 crore debt in Air India and brought in new lenders Tatas beat the Rs 15100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of Rs 12906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in the loss-making carrier PTI JD ANZ ABM ABM

New Delhi Jan 27 PTI The government has notified the agreement between Air India and special purpose vehicle AIAHL for the transfer of non-core assets ahead of the national airlines takeover by the Tata Group The government had in October last year inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18000 crore The Tata Group is expected to take full control of the airline it founded in 1932 on Thursday The cash component of the deal would come once the handover process is completed The Tata Group would pay Rs 2700 crore cash and take over Rs 15300 crore of the airlines debt The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS The transaction was to be completed by December 2021 but the deadline was later extended till January 2022 owing to longer-than-expected time taken to complete procedural work This will mark the return of Air India to the Tata fold after 67 years The Tata Group had founded Air India as Tata Airlines in October 1932 The government nationalised the airline in 1953 As a precursor to the handover process the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management DIPAM on January 24 notified the framework agreement entered into by and between Air India Ltd and AI Assets Holding Ltd AIAHL for transfer of assets of the national carrier post it ceasing to be a public sector company AIAHL was set up in 2019 by the government for holding debt and non-core assets of the Air India group Four Air India subsidiaries -- Air India Air Transport Services Ltd AIATSL Airline Allied Services Ltd AASL Air India Engineering Services Ltd AIESL and Hotel Corporation of India Ltd HCI -- along with non-core assets painting and artefacts and other non-operational assets was transferred to the SPV In October last year Tatas beat the Rs 15100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of Rs 12906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in the loss-making carrier As on August 31 2021 Air India had a total debt of Rs 61562 crore Around75 per cent of this debt or Rs 46262 crore will be transferred to the special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the loss-making airline to the Tata Group Besides non-core assets of Air India including land and building valued at Rs 14718 crore are also being transferred to AIAHL Tatas would not get to retain non-core assets such as the Vasant Vihar Housing colony of Air India Air India Building at Nariman Point Mumbai and Air India Building in New Delhi Of the 141 Air India aircraft that Tatas would get 42 are leased planes while the remaining 99 are owned While this will be the first privatisation since 2003-04 Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas stable - it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd Air India will give it access to a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and Air India Express Ltd another 24 narrow-body aircraft besides control of 4400 domestic and 1800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports as well as 900 slots at airports overseas such as Londons Heathrow Air India started suffering losses every year since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007-08 A Turnaround Plan TAP as well as a Financial Restructuring Plan FRP were approved for Air India by the previous UPA regime in 2012 However the TAP did not work out and Air India continued to reel under losses with the government giving Rs 20 croreday to keep the airline afloat Over the last decade more than Rs 110 lakh crore was infused by way of cash support and loan guarantee in the loss making airline to keep it afloat The airline is suffering losses of Rs 20 croreday currently On a standalone basis Air India reported a net loss of Rs 54226 crore during the April-September period of the current fiscal ending March 2022 PTI JD ANZ DRR

Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of ₹ 18,000 crore re-acquire the airline more than half a century after it ceded control to the government. Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).

Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of ₹ 18,000 crore re-acquire the airline more than half a century after it ceded control to the government. Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).

Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of ₹ 18,000 crore re-acquire the airline more than half a century after it ceded control to the government. Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).

Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of ₹ 18,000 crore re-acquire the airline more than half a century after it ceded control to the government. Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).

Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of ₹ 18,000 crore re-acquire the airline more than half a century after it ceded control to the government. Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).