Proposal to raise FDI in scheduled airlines spurned

The civil aviation ministry spurned a proposal of the commerce and industry ministry to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in scheduled airlines to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent in the wake of the controversies surrounding the infusion of foreign capital in the Jet-Etihad and AirAsia deals.

A senior said, "We are still testing waters after permitting foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in scheduled carriers in September. A proposal was made by the department of industrial policy and promotion to raise FDI cap in scheduled airlines to 74 per cent. We have spurned that."