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India's government has been working on a package for Air India
after plans to sell a majority stake in the debt-laden airline
failed this year due to a lack of interest from bidders.
"We are going through the government approval process," Sinha
told reporters, without giving details.
Air India, which has survived for years with help from
taxpayers, has asked the government for 21.21 billion rupees
($292 million) in additional equity to pay the carrier's bills
to vendors.
India's top civil aviation bureaucrat said in September that a
$120 million capital injection for Air India was on the way, and
the government is also working on a relief package for the
airline industry.
Jet Airways, India's largest full-service carrier, and
state-owned Air India are struggling to stem losses in the
world's fastest-growing domestic aviation market, where
competition is intense and fuel taxes are high.
India's airline industry is forecast to lose up to $1.9 billion
this financial year due to rising costs and low fares, according
to consulting firm CAPA.
The civil aviation ministry has proposed other measures to help
the airline industry, including adding aviation turbine fuel to
a nationwide goods and services tax, Sinha said.
($1 = 72.7125 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Writing by Aditi Shah, Editing by
Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Darren Schuettler)
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