Power corridor: AAI got K3.2K crore from 6 leased-out airports

NEW DELHI, APRIL 4: The Central government on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received a total amount of Rs 3,245 crore till February this year from the private partners of Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru airport.

Union minister VKSingh informed the RS: “Private partners of Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru airports have paid approximately Rs 896 crore to AAI as Per Passenger Fee (PPF) till February 2023. The AAI has also received an amount of approximately I2,349 crore from the private partners of these six airports in the form of upfront fee towards the capital expenditure incurred by AAI at these airports.”

Airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru were leased out in 2020 while the remaining three were leased out in 2021.

‘Most student suicides in central varsities’

As many as 15 students died by suicide this year, with nine cases reported from Central Universities alone, the Lok Sabha was informed Monday. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) reported three cases each this year. From 2018 to 2023, 103 students in these higher educational institutes in India have taken extreme step.

In 2018 and 2019, 20 students died each by suicide. In 2020, the number dipped to 13 and dropped to 10 in 2021. In 2022, 25 students died by suicide, while the maximum number of cases of nine were reported from IITs. This was followed by seven from NITs, five from central universities and three from the prestigious AIIMS.

-TNIE