Find below some suggestions that might assist NACIL come out of the ICU.  
•    The Government must come clean on the true financial condition of NACIL. The attitude should be - Yes we have       a problem and will overcome!
•    A national airline is the pride of every country. It should be no different for India.
•    The Board should be headed by someone of Mr. Narayan Murthy’s stature.
•    The Board of Directors be recast such that one third are Independent Directors. They should have functional            skills in Management, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance and Legal.
•    The Minister of Civil Aviation and a PMO representative should be Board members too.  
•    The Managing Director reports to the Board and should have atleast a three year term.
•    The Ministry of Civil Aviation should, for now, have joint responsibility for NACIL’s performance along with the       Board.
•    NACIL must be adequately capitalized.
•    Organization Restructuring and VRS should first start at senior levels. When other employees see Management      leading from the front they could agree to a similar proposal for themselves.
•    A Core team of AI/IA executives with Board members to prepare an implementable roadmap for effective            merger within a fixed time frame.
•    An immediate review of the maturity of existing aircraft loans must be undertaken and lenders be requested to      extend loan tenures to avoid further mismatch of cash flows.
•    Aircraft on ground 21 (as on 1.5.09) to be got in working condition to enable quick return of leased aircraft.
•    There should be a total freeze on providing further rights to foreign carriers. NACIL needs to be supported to       enable speedy recovery.  
•    Up gradation of IT environment such that it is comparable with other airlines.
•    A member of the Central Vigilance Commission should be part of the team which negotiates key contracts to avoid      delays in investigations after contract is awarded.
•    An independent evaluation of the merits and demerits of outsourced services and contracts (e.g. engineering      facilities, manpower for operational areas, ground services) be undertaken by a joint team having management     and union representatives. It should be convened by a Board member.
•    Performance of employees who affect savings of more than Rs 30 lakhs per annum should be recognized with Air       India medals.
•    Appointment of retired employees should be cleared by the Board.
•    Except the CMD every employee can have only one office only.
•    Necessity of existing foreign postings to reviewed.

The devil is in the detail and implementation of ideas. India wishes NACIL a speedy recovery.

The author is Managing Consultant Surya Consulting.