Tata Sons recently became the new owner of the country’s debt-ridden national airline Air India.
Tata Airlines was started in 1932 when India was still under British dominion.
Tata Airlines went public in 1946, changing its name to Air India and becoming a joint-stock corporation.
In 1948, the Government founded Air India International, the country’s first public-private partnership, with the Government owning 49 percent, Tatas 25%, and the public the balance.
Air India International began operations with flights to Europe.
Air-India International became one of the top companies in the world’s airline industry.
The airline, however, was nationalized by the Jawaharlal Nehru government in 1953, with JRD Tata as Chairman.
His affiliation with the national carrier lasted until after the Emergency when the Janata Party government fired him.
With this came down the glory of Air India.
Air India struggled to stay competitive once India allowed independent airlines to operate in 1994.
Despite a significant loss in market share, the company was kept bloated by maintaining a large fleet and labor force.
The AB Vajpayee government attempted to sell a minority part of a 40% ownership in Air India when the skies were opened to private operators.
The latest phase of privatizations began in 2017 under the Narendra Modi administration.
In April 2021 of this year, the Government issued a request for bids from possible bidders.