Tata Takes Control of Air India After 69 Years
In an epochal event, India’s flag carrier Air India on Thursday returned to the hands of Tata Group, after 69 years.
Air India was founded by J R D Tata in 1932 and it was sold to the Indian government in 1953. It was India’s first & best airline. However, over the years, it became very difficult for the government to manage Air India. The government had to take loans to keep the company afloat and the service became bad. To know the complete history of Air India’s losses and their loans, you can watch our previous video where we have explained everything clearly. As of August 2021, AI’s total debt was Rs 61,562 crore. That’s when Tata Group said that they would pay off Rs 18,000 crore loan. Rs 15,300 crore will be paid through various assets like shares, land, etc and the remaining Rs 2,700 crore would be paid in cash. The government agreed and the deal was finalised.
Yesterday Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with this meeting, Tata officially took over Air India from the government. Chandrasekaran also visited the Air India headquarters in New Delhi. He gave a speech to the employees and said, ‘“We are excited to have Air India back in the Tata Group and are committed to making this a world-class airline. I warmly welcome all the employees of Air India, to our Group, and look forward to working together.”
Tata already owns 84% stake in AirAsia India and 51% in Vistara. Air India will it’s 3rd airline. The Tatas would also get thousands of trained pilots and crew. In the last 17 years, the Indian government has never fully sold government companies to private companies. There is usually a partnership between govt & private companies and the government hold major power. This is the first time in 17 years that the government has fully sold a government company to a private company.
