A powerful signal

Govt's approval of Air India privatisation is a landmark

The government deserves congratulations on approving Tata Group’s Rs 18,000-crore bid for the state-owned carrier, Air India. Selling off Air India has been the holy grail for privatisation in India. The “national carrier” has been bleeding ever since a botched merger with Indian Airlines more than a decade ago. Its presence in the civil aviation sector had severely distorted the market, since government subsidies allowed it to run at a loss and undercut private sector airlines. Taxpayer money has gushed out of the exchequer to the bottomless pit that is Air India for the past decade. In spite of that,