T N Ninan: Oh, to be in Mallya's shoes!

Air India has sunk more money, and will create a bigger hole in the books of lenders than Kingfisher

Which is the bigger scandal, Air India or Kingfisher? In purely financial terms, that is a no-brainer. Air India has sunk much more money, and will create a bigger hole in the books of lender banks than its erstwhile private sector competitor. According to the airline’s balance sheet of three years ago (the latest available), the government had pumped in Rs 14,345 crore as share capital, while the airline had borrowed Rs 49,869 crore. The total funds deployed: Rs 64,214 crore — for a business with revenue then of Rs 19,000 crore! The numbers have changed somewhat since, but not