With FIPB granting conditional clearance to the Rs 2,058 crore Jet—Etihad deal, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today said the concerns raised by MPs and others over it were “politically motivated“.
Observing that the decision would “bring back confidence of investors on India”, he said, “All concerns of the MPs and others have been resolved. The issues they raised were politically motivated.”
Replying to questions, he said it was clear that the Jet Airways “management has to work as per the Indian law. They would have headquarters in Mumbai. They would be governed by the Indian Aircraft Rules 1934“.
He said if Jet or the Abu Dhabi—based Etihad Airways “at any time make changes in shareholding pattern, they have to get permission from the Indian government agencies... There was some problem with the language of the deal... so they were asked to change the language.”
The minister said the FIPB clearance to the deal was an “important step for the civil aviation sector. We need money for infrastructure projects, which will come through FDI“.
With the proposed Jet—Etihad deal receiving the nod of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the matter would now go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for final clearance, with official sources indicating that it might be taken up within a week.