CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The government had in October last year, inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore.

Detailed explanation-2: -Tata won its bid for Air India in October 2021, ending decades of attempts to privatize a debt-laden airline that was kept alive on years of taxpayer-bailouts. Air India has been unprofitable since its 2007 merger with state-owned domestic operator Indian Airlines Ltd.

Detailed explanation-3: -It’s official! The debt-laden Air India has been handed over to the Tata Group after 67 years. The Tata group had founded Air India as Tata Airlines in October 1932. The government nationalised the airline in 1953.

Detailed explanation-4: -Overall, Air India’s first year under the Tatas has been a positive one. While a delay in appointing a CEO slowed things down, since then, we have seen a complete overhaul of customer service, new applications, improved catering (rolling out slowly), and more aircraft.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Indian government nationalised the private airline in 1953, ran it with taxpayer money, repeatedly underwrote losses after 2007, put it up for sale, and finally handed it to one of the bidders, the Tata group.