The government is studying a proposal to allow foreign direct investment in domestic airlines (FDI), Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, said in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Thursday, 19 February 2009. He was replying to a question whether the government is considering a proposal to allow (FDI in domestic airlines, including public sector Air India.
The current FDI norms prohibit overseas airlines from picking up stake in Indian carriers. Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya had sometime ago written to the Union Government to allow FDI in domestic carriers to make them internationally competitive.