Air India to get govt aid to fund salaries, maintain operations

MUMBAI: The government will provide debt-laden national carrier Air India with financial resources so that it can disburse the salaries of its staff and maintain its operations, Union minister of state for aviation Jayant Sinha said on the sidelines of an event on Thursday.

“We are definitely going to provide Air India with necessary liquidity and financial resources so that there is a successful turnaround (of the airline) and the airline continues to provide worldclass services to its passengers and that staff of the airline are paid on time,” Sinha said.

Air India has not disbursed salaries to a large number of its employees for the month of May, payable in June. An Air India spokesperson had earlier said that the delay in government’s equity infusion into the airline led to the delay in payment of salaries to the staff. The spokesperson had, however, said that the airline is expected to disburse salaries for May 2018 by June 15. The airline has also floated a tender to raise ₹1,000 crore from banks to meet its working capital needs.

Sinha said that the government is charting out plans for equity infusion into the airline, which had been frozen after the announcement of strategic divestment of the national carrier.

Sinha said the government is committed to putting in financial resources to ensure that the airline can maintain its operations.

The government, which drew a blank on its plans to divest 76% stake in Air India as it did not get any bids for the airline, will soon take a decision on the future of the airline.

“The group of ministers constituted to oversee Air India’s strategic divestment will analyse all matters before them and an appropriate decision will be taken,” Sinha said.

had on June 13 reported that the government is considering easing the terms for the sale of Air India after its attempt to sell the national carrier failed to attract buyers. The report had said that the government is in initial talks with interested parties to reset the terms. BENGALURU: Online fashion retailer Myntra is planning to expand its offline presence from the existing 12 stores to 100 within the next two years, partly to strengthen its private label business.

By March 2020, Myntra will open 50 stores for its biggest-selling brand, Roadster, besides expanding its offline presence with HRX. It also operates the franchise of the Mango label in India. Myntra is opening stores primarily for strengthening its brands, chief executive Ananth Narayanan said in an interview. “We are not opening stores because we want them to be big sales centres. It is a great way to do branding for us and to provide the touch-and-feel experience to consumers. In future, stores can also help us deliver products faster to (online) consumers.”

Even after the launch of the 100th store, offline will comprise only about 5% of its business, said Narayanan. Myntra, which also owns Jabong, generated gross merchandise value (GMV) of $1.2 billion in the last financial year. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) margin narrowed to -5% in March, from -17% in the yearago period. The company expects the GMV to increase by more than 50% this year.

Myntra is not the only online retailer to expand its operations to the physical space. Many online retailers, including Eyewear retailer Lenskart, furniture retailers Pepperfry and Urban Ladder, and baby products seller Firstcry, are looking to strengthen their brands or boost sales through brick-and-mortar stores.