IA wants 50-seaters 8212; Ananth Kumar

Kumar added that his ministry will seek Cabinet approval to subsidise the operations of 50-seaters which are otherwise not economically viable for IA.

The minister, who spent considerable time answering queries on the 50-seater deal which threatens to snowball into a controversy, said the aircraft purchase would be subject to the quot;strictest scrutinyquot;.

The ATR deal involves the purchase of six 50-seater aircraft costing roughly Rs 60-65 crore each from the French company Aerospatiale with the Rs 325 crore equity promised by the government. While the IA top brass is against the purchase of the 50-seaters, the minister has advocated the induction of small aircraft in the airline8217;s fleet.

Incidentally, President KR Narayanan had written to cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar earlier this month expressing his reservations on the fresh equity infusion in IA by a caretaker government. He had later summoned IA chairman Anil Baijal for a meeting on this issue.

Discussing the presidential summons, the civil aviation minister said that the President merely wanted to ask Baijal a few questions on the disinvestment in IA. quot;Those questions have been answered,quot; Kumar said, adding justifiably that the President quot;was curious and not concernedquot; about the equity infusion.

Baijal, who was also present at the press conference, did not comment.