Railway
Under the Air Corporations Act, 1953, the number of private airlines nationalised was:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — 9
Detailed Solution
Under the Air Corporations Act, 1953, the Government of India nationalised nine private airline companies and merged them into two state-owned corporations.
The two corporations created:
- Indian Airlines Corporation: for domestic and regional air services.
- Air India International: for international air services.
- Both came into existence on 1 August 1953.
Airlines that were nationalised:
They included Air India, Airways (India), Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air Services of India, Deccan Airways and Air India International.
Background:
Air India began as Tata Airlines, founded by J.R.D. Tata in 1932.
J.R.D. Tata flew the first commercial flight in India, carrying mail from Karachi to Bombay on 15 October 1932.
Tata Airlines became Air India in 1946.
Why nationalisation was done:
- After independence, many private airlines faced financial difficulties.
- The government felt that a strong and well-coordinated air transport system was necessary for national development.
- Nationalisation was in line with the policy of a mixed economy, in which important sectors were under the public sector.
Later developments:
- In 1994, the Air Corporations Act was repealed, allowing private airlines to operate scheduled services again.
- In 2007, Air India and Indian Airlines were merged into a single company, the National Aviation Company of India Limited, later renamed Air India Limited.
- In January 2022, the government sold Air India back to the Tata Group, completing its privatisation.
Regulation of civil aviation:
- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regulates air safety.
- The Airports Authority of India manages many airports.
Regional connectivity:
The UDAN scheme ("Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik"), launched in 2016, aims to make air travel affordable in smaller cities.
Why not the other options?
- ✗5, 7 and 12 do not match the number of airlines nationalised.
Quick tip
Remember: Air Corporations Act, 1953 = 9 airlines nationalised into Indian Airlines and Air India International.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Industries & Transport in India Questions
View all ›- Q1.India's first nuclear power plant is:
- Q2.Which is the deepest landlocked and well-protected port in India?
- Q3.The East-West Corridor of the National Highways Development Project connects:
- Q4.India's longest rail-cum-road bridge, connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh over the Brahmaputra, is the:
- Q5.The Atal Tunnel, one of the world's longest highway tunnels above 10,000 feet, connects Manali with:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Industries & Transport in India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Industries & Transport in India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's major industries (iron and steel, textiles, cement, sugar, automobiles and information technology) and their locations, along with the transport network: railways, roads and national highways, ports, airports and waterways. Common questions ask where a steel plant is located and which country helped build it (Bhilai with the Soviet Union, Rourkela with Germany and Durgapur with Britain), which city is called the 'Manchester of India', and facts about major ports, railway zones and national highways. Practise the industries and transport questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.