More equity infusion for Air India soon: Patel

After the initial Rs 800-crore bailout for Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said the government would infuse "more" equity in the national carrier in the near future.

"The government is committed to equity infusion in Air India. Rs 800 crore has already been infused. More money will be coming in the near future," Patel told reporters on the sidelines of a tourism and travel mart here.

He said a Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would meet on February 3 to decide on further equity.

"I can't give any commitment until we have a decision of the GoM," Patel, who is also a member of the Group, said when asked how much more equity would be infused in the ailing national carrier.

He dismissed as "completely baseless" the reports that the government was considering undoing the merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines.

Patel said his ministry would soon unveil a new airport policy, which would allow construction of greenfield airports at smaller destinations.

He said "single window clearance" would be given to such projects by the government.

Last year, the the government had set up the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority to settle disputes between the airport operators and users like airlines and passengers.

Patel voiced support for the aviation industry's demand of making aviation turbine fuel as 'declared good' so that a uniform 4 per cent sales tax rate is imposed on it across the country.

He said the industry was faced with major problems and huge losses over the last two years and the government would take steps to improve its viability.

On fog-related problems being faced at Delhi's IGI Airport and other airports in the Northern region, he said fog affected air travel "all over the world" and the airport here was equipped with the most modern Category-III Instrument Landing System to operate flights in dense fog.

Earlier speaking at the South Asia Tourism and Travel Exhibition, Patel said tourism in India needed to grow at a much faster pace and facilities to ensure this have to be put in place expeditiously.

"We need to do a lot more to attract tourism," he said adding that small places like Singapore and Dubai attracted much more tourists compared to India.