Budget 2022: Modi govt's final Rs 52,000-crore goodbye to Air India

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced the allocation of this amount towards clearing the airline's dues to various banks

In a final goodbye of sorts to Air India, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the allocation of Rs 52,000 crore towards clearing Air India’s dues to various banks.

This assumes significance since after the sale of Air India to the Tata group, almost Rs 46,000 crore of the airline’s Rs 61,000 crore debt was supposed to be paid back by the government. The Tata group was saddled with only Rs 15,000 crore of the airline’s humongous debt.

While the Tata group had received several offers from various public sector banks to service its debts, there were questions over how the