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Air India sale: How national carrier was propelled into debt by UPA’s Praful Patel, AK Anthony, others

Air India was sunk deep into debt due to some unlikely decisions made by the UPA government, and several ministers abusing their power.

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Air India, which is the flag carrier airline of the country, was recently auctioned off by the Indian government and bought by Tata Sons for a whopping sum of Rs 18,000 crore. The airline was originally started by JRD Tata, Tata Group’s chairman, in 1932, and now has been bought back by the same company.

The airline was propelled towards debt over the past several years despite being one of the major sources of revenue for the Indian government since its establishment. The airline stacked up dept due to some unlikely decisions made by the UPA government, along with the unethical calls taken by ministers Praful Patel and AK Anthony, among others.

Former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was given the portfolio back in 2004 when Air India was flourishing, being the market leader of 42 percent market share. Through the course of his tenure, Air India’s state kept deteriorating, ending its golden days.

Patel-led civil aviation ministry decided to buy 68 planes for more than Rs 50,000 crore without any revenue plan or a route map to deploy so many additional aircraft, which led to the public opinion of him being alleged, involved in fleet acquisition scams. Earlier, the NDA government had proposed to add 28 planes to Air India’s fleet.

As the UPA government proposed to buy 68 aircraft, out of which 27 were Dreamliners from Boeing which would benefit the American planemaker, many opposed. V Subramaniam, who was the additional secretary and financial adviser in the civil aviation ministry, decided to oppose the decision but was eventually disregarded.

He had also questioned why an airline with a turnover of Rs 7,000 crore should place orders of Rs 50,000 crore, a report which was later reviewed by the CAG. Praful Patel was also given the nickname “Minister for Kingfisher”, as during his tenure; he allegedly benefited Kingfisher airlines by changing the timings and locations of Air India flights.

It was also reported that Patel’s daughter, Poorna Patel, also misused the services of Air India while being the hospitality manager for the Indian Premier League (IPL). She also allegedly aborted an Air India flight travelling from Delhi to Coimbatore to fly herself and some IPL players from Chandigarh to Chennai.

UPA minister AK Anthony was also one of the contributors to the downfall of Air India, as he had reportedly misused the funds of the national airlines to please his wife, Elizabeth Anthony. Two paintings by Elizabeth Anthony were bought by Air India, as per reports.

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