Air India was founded by J R D Tata in 1932 It was the best airline with the best service. Later on, the Indian government wanted to buy Air India and take control of their hands. J R D Tata agreed and as you all know sold Air India to the government of India in 1953. It was India's best airline service.
However, over the years, it became very difficult for the government to manage Air India and the service too became bad. To keep the company afloat, the government had to take loans which they were unable to pay back. In August 2021, the government decided to sell off the complete stake of Air India as Air India's total debt was Rs 61,562 crore which they were unable to pay back. Hence decided to sell the company. That’s when Tata Group bid and said that they would pay off Rs 18,000 crore loan and the government agreed. Out of the Rs 18,000 crore, Rs 15,300 crore will be paid through various assets like shares, land, etc and the remaining would be paid in cash.
After Tata paid 18,000 crores, the remaining 61,562 crore loan would be managed by the government. The government agreed and the deal was finalized. Yesterday 27th January 2022, Tata officially took over the reins of Air India from the government. The company that was originally theirs, sold to the government and now reclaimed it back. Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran met Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the deal. Chandrasekaran also visited the Air India headquarters in New Delhi. He was welcomed by the staff.
He gave a speech to the employees and said, I am glad to welcome all the employees of Air India, to our Group, Air India was Tata's initiative which was sold to the government and it is unbelievable that we have got it back. With your cooperation and hard work, we hope to make this a world-class airline at par with other international airlines. By buying Air India, the Tatas would also get thousands of trained pilots and crew. There is a surprising fact. Whenever any government company suffers losses and the government finds it difficult to manage, they then announce to sell off the company.
However, the government never fully sells its companies to private companies. There is usually a partnership and the government holds major power. This is the first time in 17 years that the government has fully sold a government company to a private company like Tata. This is shocking as it is the first time in history. Do you think Tatas have only taken over Air India? No, they have stakes in other airline companies as well. Tata already owns an 84% stake in AirAsia India, then 51% in Vistara and Air India is Tata's 3rd airline company. Tata is working hard to expand its business.