Civil aviation ministry recently announced that public sector oil company Indian Oil Corp (IOC) would sell jet fuel to government-owned carrier Air India at a discount of 8 per cent, a development that belies Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's claim that he can't think of particular airline while a taking policy decision.

IOC will charge the government-owned carrier a whopping Rs 5,300 lower per kilometer than the market rate.

The public sector oil company agreed to offer the discount following discussions between civil aviation and petroleum ministries.

AirAsia India's application to launch its operations in India will be cleared as soon as it submits all the required data, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Friday.

Mr. Singh said that the proposed airline had already submitted the application, and the ministry was scrutinizing it.

Speaking on the topic, he said, "When all the data is there, I can tell you, the Ministry is very active, proactive. If we get all the required data it should be cleared very soon."

The troubled Kingfisher Airlines has not submitted any revival plan for resuming its operations in the country, according to Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India.

"All they have to do is satisfy DGCA that they can do safe operation and sustain operations. They have to give a plan -- a financially viable plan. Hehas not given that so far," he said.

Air fares in the state of Maharashtra may come down as the state government may announce a cut in taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in its upcoming budget, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh hinted.

Mr. Singh said on Sunday that he had held many rounds of meetings with Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan on bringing taxes on ATF down. He added that he expected the government to announce a cut in the taxes in the upcoming state budget.

Speaking on the topic, the minister said, "We can expect a decision on this in the state budget."

India's civil aviation ministry is planning to negotiate with some foreign governments, including Singapore and Sri Lanka, for additional seat entitlement as seats quota peaked after Kingfisher Airlines stripped of foreign traffic rights.

Grounded Kingfisher Airlines' domestic as well as international flying slots will soon become available for its rival carriers as Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has passed orders for the same.

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Monday announced in an official statement that Kingfisher had been stripped of all flying slots.

India's civil aviation sector has been blaming government's policies for its financial woes.

Moves like giving more licences to start new airlines and allowing existing airlines to import more planes would have assisted in bring down fares that have defied gravity ever since the start of Kingfisher's troubles last year, but aviation minister Ajit Singh did just the opposite.

Just paying the employees is not enough and Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines will not be allowed to fly again until it settles its outstanding dues with all stake holders, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh declared.

The civil aviation minister said that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had declared that all stakeholders needed to be satisfied before the carrier was allowed to fly again.

India's civil union ministry has described the revival plan of Kingfisher proposing an investment of Rs 650 crore as insufficient.

Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India has said that the parent UB Group needs to find a solid investor before the airline can be revived. DGCA said on Friday that the revival plan involving an investment of Rs.
650 crore of Kingfisher Airways is not enough for restarting the company's operations.

New Delhi, Jan 18 : Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Friday that Boeing is liable to compensate Air India for the grounding six of 787 Dreamliner passenger jets over safety issues.

"Yes, yes there will be some, but it''s too early to discuss that. Let''s first get some clarity, what the problem is, what it will take to resolve it, how long will it take and then we talk about all these things," Singh told the media here.

India grounded all six Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by state-owned carrier Air India on Thursday after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made the same decision.

New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Arun Mishra said on Thursday that India has grounded national carrier Air India's six Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets over the aircraft's safety after the same decision was made by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

He further said that there is no clarity on when the Dreamliners will be back in service.

New Delhi, Jan 3 : Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has constituted a five-member Committee, headed by Prof. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Professor of Economics and Public Systems, IIM, Ahmedabad, to suggest various measures for cost cutting and optimal utilisation of resources in Air India.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would ask Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) to provide additional information regarding its funding plan as it didn't disclose anything about it in the recently submitted revival plan, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday.

Aviation regulator has already declared that Kingfisher would have to confirm a plan on how it would clear dues to various stakeholders, including airport operators and oil companies.

State-run carrier Air India is reportedly on its way to sharply narrow its net loss, an indication that the government's turnaround plan for the debt-laden carrier may be working.

As per a recent report published by the Mint, Air India has estimated that its net loss will decline to Rs 4,270 crore in the financial year of 2012-13, from a net loss of Rs 7,853 crore in the previous year.

The report adds weight to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's claim that the national carrier has improved its performance standards over the last one-year period.

Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has agreed to allow Indian airlines like SpiceJet and IndiGo to use state-owned refiners' facilities to store imported jet fuel, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said.

Moily also confirmed the decision and said he would discuss the terms of access with the refiners. However, he did not give a precise timeframe for concluding the discussions.

National carrier Air India will hit the market with its long-awaited Rs 7,400-crore bond issue very soon, two sources familiar with the development revealed.

The sources said that the debt-ridden carrier would get finance ministry's nod for the fund-raising exercise within a fortnight.

Air India is banking heavily on the planned bond sale as it is currently reeling under a massive debt of more than Rs 43,000 crore. It wants to raise money via the bond sale to ease the interest cost on the massively expensive working capital loans.

Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha and president of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), has declared that his party would not support the UPA government at the Centre in any circumstances.

The Congress-led UPA government is in search of new allies after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee withdraw support to the centre government over diesel price hike and foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.

The induction of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner into Air India will bring back the national carrier's good old 'Maharaja' days, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh believes.

Beleaguered national carrier Air India received devilry of first of its twenty-seven ordered Dreamliner just a few days back from the American plane-maker Boeing Co. Air India officials as well as the civil aviation ministry are optimistic that the new aircraft will attract more and more passengers to the carrier.

India Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh ahs indicated that he is hopeful that the government will soon allow foreign direct investment in the aviation sector by foreign aviation firms.

The ministries of Finance and Civil Aviation are already backing the proposal to amend the FDI guidelines for the aviation sector and there are some ministries that are yet to announce give their approval. The government is considering allowing foreign airlines to buy stakes in Indian carriers.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has expressed hope that a political consensus on the issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian aviation industry would prevail soon.

Mr. Ajit Singh admitted that the decision on allowing foreign investors to pick up 49 per cent stake in Indian carriers was still in a limbo, but added that they were pursuing talks with all parties on the issue and hoped that a consensus would be hit soon.