Air India to get Rs67b injection

Bengaluru Air India is getting an Rs67 billion (Dh4.9 billion) state bailout, almost double the amount the federal government has spent on new hospitals over the past three years. The cash injection will be announced in the federal budget Friday, Air India Chairman Rohit Nandan said at the Hyderabad airshow Wednesday. The government may also pay off Rs180 billion of aircraft loans over the next ten years, said a civil aviation ministry official, who declined to be identified citing rules. India, which is facing surging rates of diabetes and has the world's highest number of people suffering from tuberculosis, has already pumped Rs32 billion into Air India since April 2009 as the carrier struggles with fuel and loan costsSpending on health care is much more important than propping up an airline," said Prakash Gupta, head of Mumbai-based non-profit public-health research firm Healis. The government has put "a lot of money" into Air India already for no return, he said.