Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said the Tata Group’s takeover of Air India is a win-win situation for all stakeholders concerned, adding the deal represents a huge quantum jump in the capabilities of the country’s aviation sector.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Scindia said the deal is also a representation of the culmination of a long process that took almost two decades to conclude. “It also sets in perspective a 69-year-old history which was started on the wrong step by the nationalisation of an airline that actually belonged to the private sector, It is going back to the private sector,” Scindia said.
“We will have a player with tremendous capabilities for international and domestic traffic — a party that probably has a game plan and strategy to ensure the best value for our customers. It will be a win-win position for all stakeholders in this industry,” the Union minister added.
Scindia said Air India had a running loss worth ₹85,000 crore over the last 14 years and it was earning losses of almost ₹20 crore daily. “That money of the government, which is the taxpayer’s money, can be used in areas that require social development and investment,” he said.
On Thursday, the Tata Group regained the ownership of Air India, whose control it had lost nearly seven decades ago. The conglomerate vowed that it would restore the Maharaja’s past glory.
JRD Tata, the founder of the Tata Group, had launched the airline in 1932 and it was nationalised in 1953. It was the nation’s first carrier flying mail between Karachi in then-undivided, British-ruled India and Bombay.
According to a statement issued by the Union finance ministry, Air India’s strategic disinvestment transaction was completed on Thursday with the Centre receiving the consideration of ₹2,700 crore from Talace Pvt Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons.
In October 2021, the Tata Group won the bid from Air India through competitive bidding for ₹18,000 crore, which included the cash component of ₹2,700 crore.
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday the strategic disinvestment transaction of the airline concluded successfully with the transfer of 100 per cent shares to Talace along with the management control. Pandey added a new board took charge of Air India.
“We are excited to have Air India back in the Tata Group and are committed to making this a world-class airline,” Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Thursday.
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