Mumbai: Tata sons has won the bid over national carrier, Air India on Friday. The proposal to take over the airline was accepted by a panel of ministers. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.
Former Air India director Jitender Bhargava, in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday said that the Tata Group has the funds and reserves to revive it.
“Tatas have been very, very passionate about Air India,” Bhargava said. “J.R.D. Tata on record has said that this is his only creation, rest of the Tata companies came to him and he was only managing them. So there was a lot of passion, lot of emotional connection between Tatas and Air India, and that has made them bid for it,” he added.
The investment holding company Tata Sons, which possesses a major stake in AirAsia India had earlier this month submitted a bid for the Air India. While Spice Jet Limited owner Ajay Singh too has joined the race. A recommendation is likely to roll this week as to who will be the victor in the race.
The flag carrier airline of India was established in the year 1932 by the philanthropist, aviator, and industrialist J R D Tata. The Air India airline was even known as Tata Airlines. Entrepreneur JRD Tata was the country’s first licensed pilot.
The proposed handover is a key victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has embarked on a bold privatization plan to plug a widening budget deficit. It also puts an end to a decades-long struggle to offload the money-losing flag carrier. Multiple governments have tried to sell the airline — which began life as Tata Airlines in 1932 — but those attempts were either met with political opposition or a lack of interest from potential buyers.
This is a developing story, more will be updated soon
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
