PMO summons full AI board, meeting today

In an unusual move, both the Prime Minister's Office and cabinet secretary have summoned the full board of Air India to separate meetings on Monday to take stock of the progress made in implementing the company's turnaround plan. Gaurav Choudhury reports.

In an unusual move, both the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and cabinet secretary have summoned the full board of Air India to separate meetings on Monday to take stock of the progress made in implementing the company's turnaround plan.

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The full board of AI led by chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav is expected to attend the meetings. All independent directors — Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra and Mahindra Group; Harsh Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Realty; Air Chief Marshal (retd) Fali H Major and Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI — are likely to be present.

In back-to-back meetings with the prime minister's principal secretary T K A Nair and cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar, the AI board management may have to answer a few uncomfortable questions, including recent appointments of some top executives with questionable records, sources that did not wish to be identified said.

Air India, saddled with a debt of about Rs 19,000 crore, is seeking another Rs 1,200 crore equity infusion by the government.

Last February, the government pumped in Rs 800 crore.