top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

India’s Goldilocks Moment

As global peers struggle with inflation or stagnation, India finds growth and stability in a rare alignment.

India’s economy is basking in a rare ‘Goldilocks moment,’ evoking the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears where conditions are just right, ‘not too hot, not too cold.’ The GDP surges at 7-8 percent without overheating, spurring job creation and maximizing resource utilization. Inflation nestles comfortably in the 2-4 percent sweet spot, safeguarding purchasing power and anchoring interest rates. The rewards cascade investment and consumption boom, stock markets thrive attracting foreign capital, fiscal headroom expands as dearness allowances remain modest and borrowing costs dip, while business confidence soars, heralding sustained stability Amid global headwinds, this phase stands as a beacon of resilience, positioning India for its tryst with destiny as the world's third largest economy and a developed nation by 2047.


A cautionary note persists in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which turned negative since November 2025 at minus 0.32 percent, down from 1.21 percent in October 2025 and 2.16 percent a year earlier. The fall reflects easing prices of food articles, fuel, metals, and electricity. Food inflation slid to minus 4.16 percent from 8.31 percent in October, vegetables declined by over 20 percent, and staples such as onions and potatoes saw steep year-on-year drops, easing consumer wallets. Manufactured products softened to 1.33 percent (from 1.54 percent), fuel and power to 2.27% (from 2.55 percent). Cost pressures on industry stay mild, preserving production momentum without aggressive pass-through.


Contrast this with global peers: While the US grapples with sticky core inflation around 3-4 percent despite Fed rate cuts, and Europe battles energy-driven price volatility post-Ukraine, India's WPI softening reflects supply-side strengths like bumper harvests and stable commodity inflows. China's deflationary woes, with producer prices mired at (-) 2.5 percent through late 2025, stem from excess capacity and weak demand, but India's scenario feels more transitional, buoyed by robust domestic consumption. 


Bright Horizons

Retail inflation paints a steadier picture. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose modestly from 0.25 percent to 0.71 percent in November, nudged by food prices. A softening rupee, firmer commodities, and vegetable spikes may lift WPI to a 0.5 percent positive. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), eyeing CPI, has delivered 1.25 percent cumulative rate cuts this fiscal year it upgraded FY 2025-26 GDP to 7.3 percent from 6.8 percent, mirroring Q1’s 7.8 percent and Q2’s 8.2 percent vigor, Inflation forecasts dipped to 2 percent from 2.6 percent, underscoring rapid disinflation. RBI hails this “rare Goldilocks phase” of high growth and low inflation, with its mandate to anchor prices firmly in place.Globally this optimism diverges sharply. The Eurozone’s 2.4 percent CPI masks industrial slowdowns, while Japan’s chronic low inflation (under 1 percent) hampers escape from stagnation. So what gives India an edge? A young demographic dividend fueling 7 percent plus growth, unlike aging Japan or the US’s 2.5 percent plod. RBI’s proactive 100 basis points easing mirrors the Fed's path but from strength, not distress.


Silver Lining

Negative WPI signals deflation - falling prices hinting at softening demand, output, or jobs, Consumers might delay buys, firms pause capex, reminiscent of Japan's ‘lost decades’ where PPI deflation averaged (-) 1 percent for years, trapping growth below 1 percent. Risks loom deferred spending erodes demand, shrinking margins idle capacity, spiking unemployment, real debt burdens swell for borrowers, risking defaults and a deflationary spiral - recession fueling joblessness, further demand collapse, and plunging prices. Central banks hit the zero lower bound, as in the 1930s Great Depression when US prices tumbled 10 percent, amplifying global misery. 


Yet, India's context brims with optimism. Deflation here lightens real debt, empowers savers and lenders as currency appreciates, enables deeper rate cuts to boost exports, like how South Korea leveraged post-1997 deflation for a rebound, and delivers affordable goods, especially aiding the poor. Unlike Japan's debt-laden trap (260 percent debt-to-GDP), India's 80 percent ratio affords maneuverability. Base effects from last year's spikes will fade, and kharif harvests promise food stability. Globally, brief deflations have propelled recoveries: Post-2008, Australia's mild producer price dips preceded a mining boom. 


Experts worldwide laud India's Goldilocks run amid turmoil - US-China trade frictions, Middle East volatility, and Europe's energy crunch. Base effects and food volatility warrant vigilance, but the RBI’s foresight and swift action, including the new rate cuts, are commendable. With the GDP firing on all cylinders, inflation tamed and global peers envious, India hurtles toward third-largest economy status. By 2047, as a developed powerhouse, it will banish inflation woes for its billion-plus citizens, scripting an economic epic that inspires the world.

Comments

bottom of page