From JRD Tata's Flying Licence To Maharaja: The Air India Story In 5 Pics

On October 15, 1932, JRD Tata famously piloted the first flight in the history of Indian aviation.

Tata Sons has regained control of Air India after 68 years, with the government picking up the salt-to-software conglomerate as the winning bidder for the state-run airline. Air India, founded by JRD Tata in 1932 (as Tata Airlines), was nationalised around the time India gained independence in 1947. Welcoming the airline back into the fold of the Tata Group, Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata today tweeted an old photograph of the late JRD Tata getting down from an Air India aircraft. 

"On an emotional note, Air India, under the leadership of Mr JRD Tata had, at one time, gained the reputation of being one of the most prestigious airlines in the world. Tatas will have the opportunity of regaining the image and reputation it enjoyed in earlier years. Mr JRD Tata would have been overjoyed if he was in our midst today," Mr Tata said in the statement he tweeted alongside the old photo.

Air India, the airline that gave wings to a nation, was born of JRD Tata's love for aviation. Not only did JRD Tata pioneer aviation in India, he was also the recipient of the first licence ever issued to an Indian. 

JRD Tata was 24 when a flying club opened in his home town Bombay. Though he wasn't the first person to register, he did become the first Indian to pass out with 'No. 1' endorsed on his flying licence, according to a blog post from Tata Group.