Bailout package for Air India: Patel

With the national carrier Air India hit by losses, the government would roll out a financial bailout package for it, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Sunday.

Asked about a possible bailout, he said, "I think it will happen because as the owner of the airline, the government has its responsibility to put in equity, like private airlines where their promoters put in money."

Asked if the government was looking at a Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) bailout, Patel told a private news channel: "No, Rs 15,000 crore is not the number. The number is far less than that."