Officially at least, Ratan Tata, patriarch of one of India's wealthiest business families, retired in late 2012. In reality, he has been a driving force behind Tata's bet on airlines and a rare public campaign to open up the booming aviation sector. The USD 100 billion Tata group conglomerate is a major beneficiary of the decision last week to open up aviation in India, making it easier for start-ups to fly overseas sooner.
The decision is no panacea for Tata, whose airlines - Vistara and AirAsia India - have had a slow start in a competitive market dominated by IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation , and Etihad-backed Jet Airways , both of which opposed the rule change.
But it marks a victory for 78-year-old Ratan Tata, and ends more than two years of airlines lobbying, of Twitter rows and of frequent public statements from the usually circumspect steel-to-salt group. "This was a David-and-Goliath kind of situation," said a source close to Tata group. "There was huge lobbying from the other side."
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