Air India receives second round of equity infusion

New Delhi: Air India received the second tranche of equity infusion from the government amounting to Rs 666 crore this May, out of the budgeted Rs 4,000 crore for fiscal 2012-13.

The debt-laden airline has been promised financial support in small tranches till 2020-21, aggregating Rs 30,000 crore. In the current financial year, the carrier will receive Rs 5,500 crore overall. The Rs 4,000 crore will be used to clear all dues to oil companies and airports and for salaries.

"We will have to ask for the remaining amount in the supplementary budget," a civil aviation ministry official told ET. The government had invested Rs 1,200 crore in fiscal 2011-12, taking Air India's equity base to Rs 3,345 crore.

Though the amount of Rs 5,500 crore is less than what Air India was expecting from the government this year, it is a lot more than what the airline has been getting in small tranches of Rs 1,200 crore over the past two financial years. The airline's total debt amounts to Rs 43,000 crore, of which aircraft acquisition or long-term loans constitute Rs 21,000 crore. The carrier has accumulated losses of Rs 20,000 crore.