Embattled Air India seeks 'urgent' loan

Air India has announced it is seeking an urgent multi-million-dollar loan to maintain day-to-day operations, highlighting the wretched financial predicament of the country's debt-stricken national carrier. In a statement posted on its website this week the airline said it was looking for a short-term loan of 10b rupees (US$148m) "to meet urgent working capital requirements". Air India has failed to pay staff their salaries on time for the past three months, according to multiple news reports. The plea for funds, made on Tuesday but only picked up by media late Thursday, came just days after the government said it had not received any bids in an auction for a majority stake in the airline. Airlines and other investors were put off by some of the sale terms, forcing the government to go back to the drawing board. Air India is about US$8b in the red and reported losses of almost 58b rupees for the financial year ending March 2017.<br/>