Tata Sons wins bid to buy Air India

Tata Sons will take over the loss-making national carrier Air India, the Centre announced on Friday at a press briefing. The Tata Group placed a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore.

Tata Sons will buy out the government's stake in Air India, low-cost airline Air India Express, and take 50 percent of Air India SATS Services. It will also take over debt worth nearly Rs 15,300 crore, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance.

Soumen Ray appointed CFO of Bharti Airtel

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has appointed Soumen Roy as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for its operations in India and South Asia, following the resignation of Badal Bagri.

Ray is currently CFO of Bajaj Auto. He has been with the two-wheeler manufacturer since 2018, and has been key in the development of its electric-vehicle roadmap.

Firstsource partners with UiPath

Firstsource Solutions, a business process management (BPM) firm, has extended its partnership with UiPath, an enterprise automation software company, to strengthen its impact sourcing initiative.

The partnership aims to provide career opportunities to the economically disadvantaged by training them in the latest digital technologies, and developing an automation mindset. The two companies will jointly provide training on fast-growing automation technologies via UiPath’s automation platform and academy.

Rahul Mithal appointed RITES Chairman and MD

Rahul Mithal has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of RITES, a transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering firm.

RITES, which generated revenue of Rs 2,005 crore in FY 2021, is the export arm of Indian Railways. Mithal has held key positions in Indian Railways and Container Corporation of India over the past 31 years.

TSMC, Sony planning chip factory

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and Sony Group plan to build an 800 billion yen ($7.14 billion) semiconductor factory in western Japan, Nikkei reported on Friday.

The factory will make semiconductors used in camera image sensors, as well as chips for automobiles and other products. It is slated to go into operation by 2024, people familiar with the matter told Nikkei.

The Japanese government will support the project with subsidies due to concerns about maintaining supply chain stability amid chip shortage and rising tensions surrounding the Taiwan Strait.

Tesla moves headquarters to Texas

Electric vehicle-maker Tesla will move its headquarters to Austin, Texas, from Palo Alto, said Elon Musk, CEO of the company, at its 2021 annual shareholder meeting.

The company will still increase production at its California plant. Tesla joins the bandwagon of companies moving their headquarters to Texas after Oracle, H-P and Toyota Motor.

California has relatively higher taxes and cost of living. Elon Musk relocated from Los Angeles, where he lived for nearly two decades, to Austin in August 2020.