The Hindu Business Line : Ministry of Corp Affairs okays AI, Indian merger

New Delhi, Aug 21 The legal formalities for the merger of Air India and Indian are to be completed in a month even as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has given its nod for the merger.

Official sources told Business Line that before giving the clearance, the Registrar of Companies sought a few clarifications from the Ministry of Civil Aviation including what the authorised capital base of the merged company would be.

“It was only after the answers were provided that the go-ahead was given for the merger,” a senior official said. The merger, which comes into effect from April 1 this year would create one of the largest airlines in the region. It is estimated that the entire merger process would be completed within 18 months of the proposal being cleared by the Government. The merged entity that is to be called Air India would have a fleet of more than 111 aircraft.

Unions opposing merger

Meanwhile, the unions that have been opposing the merger are now planning to move to court. At a meeting at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs earlier this month the unions had called for settlement of pending wage arrears before the merger was completed.

The Government has maintained that the merger would not lead to any job loss. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has also been asking the Chairman and Managing Director of both the airlines to speak with the employees and explain the rationale of the merger.

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