Govt appoints Vikram Dev Dutt as Chairman, MD of Air India Limited

File image of an Air India aircraft (Representative image)

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on January 18 appointed Vikram Dev Dutt as Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Limited. He will get the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.

Prior to this, Dutt was appointed as Principal Secretary for the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Delhi government in June 2020. However, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal transferred the IAS officer of AGMUT 1993 batch and posted him as principal secretary of the Services department in March 2021.

Dutt, in 2020, assumed the charge of Delhi's Health and Family Welfare Department as principal secretary to push government's measures to contain the COVID-19 cases in the national capital.

Meanwhile, reports arrived that the loss-making national carrier Air India's takeover by Tata Group may be delayed by a month till January. The reason being the completion of procedures taking longer than expected.

Earlier in October 2020, the Union government accepted the highest bid made by a Tata Sons company for 100 percent equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50 percent stake in ground-handling company AISATS — the first privatisation in 20 years.

On October 25, the government had signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore.

According to the deal, Tata’s would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and takeover Rs 15,300 crore of the airline’s debt. The cash component would come once the handover process is completed.

Also, 75 percent of this debt or Rs 46,262 crore will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the loss-making airline to Tata Group. Among other provisions, Tatas will not get to retain non-core assets, such as the Vasant Vihar Housing colony of Air India, Air India Building at Nariman Point, Mumbai, and Air India Building in New Delhi.

Of the 141 Air India aircraft that Tatas will get, 42 are leased planes, while the remaining 99 are owned.