Air India, Indian merger set for April

The merger of Air India and Indian is expected to take effect from April 1. Based on recommendations of Accenture, the consultants appointed to assist the government with the merger, steps have already been initiated to integrate the two state-owned carriers as well as their low-cost subsidiaries. The civil aviation ministry has said that there would be no retrenchment of any staffer of these airlines. The Group of Minister (GoM), headed by the external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, will look into various aspects of the merger in its meeting scheduled in mid-January. The government is examining various routes like enacting a law for merging the two state-owned carriers. Officials feel that issuing an ordinance would be the fastest way to merge the two state-owned carriers. “The actual structure of the national airlines is likely to take shape by early 2008, depending on how the various operations get streamlined,” said an analyst with an investment bank.

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