The government has identified people, with time and ideas, to be taken on Air India's board to steer the flag carrier to profitability, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
"We are going to form an independent board of directors very soon. I shall be meeting the Prime Minister this week and discuss all the probable names," he told reporters on the sidelines of a management institute function.
The airline's current board has only one independent director -- N Vaghul, ex-chairman of ICICI, while the remaining nine are either from the civil aviation ministry or the airline itself.
The probables identified by the government are people who can 'give time and contribute meaningfully for this great turnaround' that the airline hopes to achieve, Patel said.
On the requirement of funds for reviving the national carrier, Patel said that a revival plan on the financial side is expected from SBI Caps soon.
Dispelling the notion that the government would bail out the carrier, whose losses in FY'09 are expected to be near about Rs 5,300 crore (Rs 53 billion) and working capital borrowings around Rs 16,500 crore (Rs 165 billion), Patel said the ministry was not looking at any major financial help but only an equity infusion.
