MAHARAJA’S FUTURE
01 Jan 2020 12:49:12
THE iconic Maharaja of Air India might be making its last bow in the middle of the new year if a concrete plan for its disinvestment is not put in place immediately. The Union Government has not been able to hammer out a revised strategy to privatise Air India after its first effort failed to attract bids from any aviation player. The conditional disinvestment plan was an overambitious strategy which was rightly rejected by the bidders. Since then, the national carrier has been flying on hope and a prayer even as the debt burden continues to mount. With outstanding dues amounting to Rs. 60,000 crore, Air India is almost a non-entity in sectoral competition. A closure appears on cards as the Government has refused to inject more funds. Cutting value of the airlines is the only option left for the Government but it entails a massive rejig in the strategy to hand it over to any private player. Rising debts and negligible chances of its recovery has made it imperative for the Government to shut out all prickly riders and play as per the buyer’s market as it is in no mood to lend any further props.
ON TARGET
THE India State of Forest Report 2019 has a very encouraging news. According to the report, which was released by Union Environment Minister Mr. Prakash Javdekar on Monday, the country’s forest and tree cover has increased by 5188 kms in the last two years, an improvement over 2017. According to Mr. Javdekar this means that the country is well on course to achieve its carbon sink target as per the Paris Agreement of 2015. Thus India has undertaken a right approach in contributing its own mite to global efforts at containing the effects of climate change and temperature control. Because greater tree and forest cover has multifarious advantages for sustaining life support systems. Whether developed countries do their bit towards environmental mitigation or not, but it becomes the responsibility of every country to do its utmost to control pollution and emission of toxic gases. There is not much time left as the effects of climate change are already visible all over the world. India must not rest on these laurels.