JRD's art collection for Air India may remain with the govt: Report

The Air India building in Mumbai. (Photo by Arun Viswam via Wikimedia Commons 3.0)

When national carrier Air India is handed over to its new owner Tata Sons, the art collection built by its founder JRD Tata is likely to remain with the government.

The Centre will try to expedite the formal handover process and display the collection in Delhi, The Indian Express reported, citing sources in the Ministry of Culture. The pieces are currently in the storehouse at the Air India building in Nariman Point, Mumbai.

'The Maharaja collection' has over 4,000 works, including paintings by legendary artists such as Jatin Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, MF Husain and VS Gaitonde, said the report.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

In 2018, the collection was supposed to be handed over to the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Delhi as charity.

According to an agreement between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, there will be no exchange of money since it was "just a transfer from one arm of the government to another".

Also read: Air India is gone. Let's talk about the little airline govt is still holding onto

Salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Sons is set to acquire the debt-laden airline with a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore, the Centre had announced on October 8.  The deal does not include the airline's non-core assets, including land and building, which will be transferred to the government's Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL).