Debt-laden Air India has doubled the gratuity ceiling amount of its employees from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs.
Debt-laden Air India has doubled the gratuity ceiling amount of its employees from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 20 lakhs.
An Air India letter dated on June 26, said, "It has been decided to implement the enhancement of gratuity payable to employees under Payment of Gratuity Amendment Act 2018, revising the existing ceiling limit from Rupees 10 lakhs to 20 lakhs effective 29th March 2018 for employees ceasing to be in the service of the company as approved by the board of Air India Limited in its 86th meeting held on 21st May 2018."
Around 6500 employees of the airline stand to benefit from this new announcement.
Earlier, if someone had the gratuity beyond Rs.10 lakhs, he or she would only get Rs.10 lakh. The new rules of the Government of India now ensure an employee of a maximum of Rs. 20 lakhs if he or she has more than Rs. 10 lakhs.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to adopt a "wait and watch" approach for the next three to four months before taking a call on Air India disinvestment, a senior official told this to PTI on Thursday.
The official also said the general view in the government is that the national carrier should be in the hands of Indian entities.
The government's proposed stake sale in Air India failed to attract any initial bidders when the deadline for bidding ended on May 31.
"We are keeping a wait and watch policy (on Air India disinvestment) for the next three to four months. The fuel prices are high at present and we have to judge the viability of going ahead with the disinvestment process," the official said.
He also noted that the aviation sector as a whole is facing difficult times, mainly on account of rising fuel prices.
"The government is also of the view that Air India should be in the hands of Indian entities," the official added.
Under the proposed plan, the government was to sell 76 per cent stake in Air India along with complete divestment of low-cost arm Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd -- an equal joint venture with Singapore-based SATS.
Last week, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had said the government was committed to strategic disinvestment of Air India. "What the modalities are, what the circumstances are, we have to monitor and evaluate as we go along," he had said.
At the end of March 2017, the carrier had a debt burden of around Rs 48,877 crore. Out of the total amount, Rs 17,360 crore was related to aircraft and Rs 31,517 crore pertained to working capital loans.
In May, Air India's market share stood at 12.8 per cent, as per latest official data.
(With inputs from agencies)
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 "Good news for Air India employees, airline doubles gratuity ceiling amount")
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