CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Two months after the sale of the national carrier Air India to the Tata Group, the Modi government is planning to sell Air India’s iconic building in Mumbai along with other assets, NH has learnt.

Detailed explanation-2: -The government said running the airline was incurring losses of nearly $2.6m every day. The airline’s management cited rising aviation fuel prices and airport usage charges as well as competition from low-cost carriers, a weakening rupee and the interest burden for its poor financial performance.

Detailed explanation-3: -The 23-storey commercial tower, one of Mumbai’s early high-rises, which forms an unwitting backdrop for jolly selfie-lovers on Marine Drive, is owned by Air India Asset Holding Limited, which was created by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation in in 2018, to manage all Air India-owned properties.

Detailed explanation-4: -But in India, what seemed impossible in the past was being achieved. The Tata Group, which won the bid for Air India, took over the airline from the government on January 27, 2022, two years after the memorandum was released.

Detailed explanation-5: -Tata Group formally took over Air India in January after the government’s long-awaited privatisation of the debt-laden and loss-making airline in a 180 billion rupee deal ($2.2bn) for 100 per cent ownership.