the airline needs to work on its management processes rather than the meal menu. (Reuters)

On one hand, Air India has been struggling under the weight of a huge debt of nearly Rs 52,000 crore and on the other, it is looking to save Rs 8-10 crore every year by not serving non-veg food in economy class on domestic sectors. The scale of difference is mind-boggling and the CAG has pointed out that the focus of the national carrier is all awry. As per the Indian Express report, a glance at an internal report provided to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and monitored by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) simply puts the Rs 8-10 crore in perspective.

This is what the report all about:

The airliner in 2015-16 reported a net loss of over Rs 3,800 crore and an accumulated debt of nearly Rs 52,000 crore.

In 2016, it shelled out Rs 10 crore as compensation to those denied boarding, for cancellations and for flights delayed by over two hours- for domestic flights.

From 2012 to 2016 Maharaja had spent Rs 119 crore for the accommodating crew in five-star hotels for the Delhi station alone.

It lost Rs 22.49 crore in 2015 for deferring delivery of three wide-bodied Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

The national airliner lost Rs 22.49 crore in 2015 for deferring delivery of three wide-bodied Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

It paid Rs 70 crore as compensation to a lessor for two Airbus A319 aircraft because it could not comply with re-delivery conditions.

It’s in the red for Rs 472 crore, which is payment pending for VVIP flights, as on March 31, 2016.

The report added that the company did not respond to the emails sent to it, which sought the exact amount that the airliner hopes to save by cutting non-vegetarian food from the economy menu on domestic flights. But earlier last week the officials had indicated that the amount would be somewhere in the Rs 8-10 crore region.

Notably, according to Indian Express, the records show that the airline needs to work on its management processes rather than the meal menu.

Meanwhile, on July 10, Air India spokesperson G Prasad Rao said,“The process of rationalizing costs has been going on for Air India for the last few years. The decision is taken as and when required. When so much of food is being wasted, you have to take a call. Earlier, we used to have offices in different places, it was all streamlined. We vacated the Mumbai Nariman Point office. Wherever disposable assets are there, we are taking care of that. We are also generating ancillary revenues such as advertising on boarding passes, baggage tags, etc.” He was speaking to the Indian Express.