After founding Air India as Tata Airlines in October 1932, the Tata Group once again took full control over the national carrier today.
The government had inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for the sale of Air India for JNR 18,000 crore in October 2021.
The Tata Group would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airlines debt,as per tnhe deal. Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS of the carrier would also be handed over.
‘The formalities have been completed. The Air India disinvestment process is closed. The shares have been transferred to Talace Pvt Ltd, which is the new owner of Air India,’ said Tuhin Kant Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
The handover was to be completed by December 2021, but the deadline was later extended to January 2022, owing to procedural delays.
The government nationalised the airline in 1953 and after servicing the ballooning debt became infeasible, the decision to offer it up for privatization was taken.
This officially mark the return of Air India to its home at the Tata Group after 67 years.