Tata pioneered commercial aviation in India when it launched
the airline in 1932. It was taken over by the government in 1953.
Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran met with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Thursday ahead of a meeting with Air India officials. In
October, Tata’s 180 billion rupee ($2.4 billion) bid for the carrier prevailed
over a smaller bid by India SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh.
“We are delighted that this process is complete. Happy to
have Air India back and we hope to create a world-class airline,″
Chandrasekaran told reporters.
Tata will absorb 153 billion rupees ($2 billion) of the
airline’s more than 615 billion rupees ($8.2 billion) debt burden, a government
statement said.
It takes control over a fleet of 121 Air India aircraft and
25 planes of its subsidiary Air India Express, which operates low-cost flights
to more than 30 destinations in India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the
Press Trust of India news agency said.
As part of its economic reform agenda, the Modi government
has pledged to sell more than a dozen loss-making government-run companies. An
initial sale attempt by the government in 2018 failed to attract any bidders
for Air India.
The Tata group is a sprawling collection of nearly 100
companies that includes the country’s largest automaker, the largest private
steel company and a leading outsourcing firm. The companies employ more than
350,000 people around the world. Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3
billion from Ford in June 2008.
Tata also runs a budget airline, Air Asia India, in
cooperation with Malaysian carrier Air Asia Berhad, and a full-service carrier,
Vistara, with Singapore Airlines.
Air India serves 101 destinations including 57 domestic
routes and has flights to 33 countries on four continents.