Tata's Air India gamble could reveal the path of group's aviation business

A possible bid for this troubled state-owned airline could be the first move towards bulking up its underwhelming aviation business

With the August 31 deadline for submitting a bid for Air India nearing, the buzz that the Tata group will make another attempt to acquire the company is growing stronger. The group has publicly stated that it is evaluating the proposal and will consider a bid “after due consideration”.

If the group does go ahead and eventually wins the bid, it will mark the culmination of its aborted attempt 19 years ago to buy the airline which it once owned before it was nationalised in 1953. In 2001, when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government wanted to divest 40 per cent