Unconditional guarantee for Air India again.

That bailouts have not helped in kick starting economies is a lesson for all to see. The crux here is whether we have learnt anything from the same. Take the US for instance. No amount of money printing and quantitative easing lessened the woes of the US economy. And yet the Fed goes ahead and announced a third such round. Europe is no different. As certain European economies teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, the only solution that the region could come up with is bailout with more quantitative easing. Sadly, such a scenario seems to be unfolding in India as well. Although this is for a company rather than the country. And the company we are talking about is none other than the debt saddled Air Ind ia. The finance ministry has now approved an unconditional guarantee for Air India's Rs 74 bn bond issue. With a guarantee in hand, the airline will now issue non-convertible debentures and repay the high-cost short-term working capital facility availed from 19 banks. This along with equity infusion by the Centre and taking over aircraft loans were the key elements of the airline's Rs 300 bn financial restructuring plan cleared by the cabinet in April.