Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar takes a dig at the 'Indian Left' over mega Air India deal

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has lashed out at views expressed by the "Indian Left" with regard to Air India's decision to hundreds of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.

Taking to Twitter on Friday, the Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology offered a "comedic summary of the Indian Left". "When good things happen in India, this is how Lefties react," the minister wrote while tagging a post by another Twitter user who had compiled a list of satirical remarks that some individuals could allegedly make about the Air India aircraft deal.

To recall, in a 'landmark moment' in Indian aviation history, Tata Group-owned Air India placed an order for 840 planes with Airbus and Boeing, including the option to acquire 370 aircraft. According to Air India's Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal, "The order comprises 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade." The mega aircraft order is a culmination of a fascinating journey that started almost two years ago with the Air India privatisation process, he added.

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This is one of the largest aircraft orders by an airline in modern aviation history. The Airbus firm order comprises 40 A350-900/1000 and 210 A320/321 Neo/XLR aircraft. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s aircraft.

This was the first time in more than 17 years that Air India, which was acquired from the government by Tata Group in January 2022, has ordered aircraft. The first A350 plane will be delivered to Air India by the end of the year.

Asserting that the order demonstrated the vision and aspiration of Tata Group to transform Air India into a world-class airline,  Aggarwal said that the order was also a testament to the tremendous economic potential unleashed by the Air India privatisation.

To note, India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, and aircraft maker Boeing had a few days ago pegged annual domestic air traffic growth to be nearly 7 per cent through 2041 and projected that the country would require around 2,210 new planes in the next two decades.