Close to a year after being appointed to the Air India board as an independent director, Mr Anand G. Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Mahindra Group, has offered to resign from the board.

In a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Vayalar Ravi, Mr Mahindra cited ?conflict of interest? as reason for stepping down.

?I am writing to you to seek your permission to step down from the NACIL (National Aviation Company of India Ltd) board. The recently concluded Aero-India 2011 at Bangalore has thrown up business opportunities for my company Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which cause a potential conflict of interest and thereby throw up questions of good board practice. Hence my request.?

Further, he added, that his company had ?fruitful discussions with international aerospace corporations? that would throw up opportunities for the group to become a ?strategic player in the global aerospace components market.?

The letter read, ?We are developing the capability to supply components to the major suppliers from where Air India sources its aircraft?In view of this development and the favourable business prospects, which recently emerged for Mahindra & Mahindra's aeronautical business in Bengaluru, I feel that my continuing as a Director of NACIL would not be in accordance with the highest standards of corporate governance?.

Aero-plans

In December 2009, M&M had got into the aerospace business by acquiring 75.1 per cent stake each in two Australian aerospace firms-- Aerostaff Australia and Gippsland Aeronautics for Rs 175 crore to build its aerospace capacity.

In March 2010, Mr Mahindra, along with the Chairman of Ambuja Realty Development, Mr Harsh Neotia, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Dr Amit Mitra, and the former chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major, was appointed non-official part-time director of the airline.

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