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Adani Group formally takes over Mangaluru International Airport

News Network
October 31, 2020

Mangaluru, Oct 31: The Adani Group, which had won the concession to operate, manage and develop Mangaluru International Airport, took charge of the airport on the midnight of October 30 [Friday].

A tweet from the handle Mangaluru Airport, which is the official one of Mangaluru International Airport, said at 1.29 a.m. on Saturday: “Welcome the Gateway To Goodness in your lives. The Mangaluru International Airport family is privileged to serve you on your journey to let your dreams take flight.”

Another tweet at 3.37 p.m. on Saturday said: “As the Gateway to Goodness opens to the world, we were honoured to welcome the first batch of passengers from the Mangaluru International Airport. Words can not describe how privileged we feel on this momentous occasion.”

The Mangaluru airport is the first of three with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that the Adani Group took over. The group will take over the Lucknow and the Ahmedabad airports on November 2 and November 11, respectively.

A tweet by the AAI said on Saturday that in accordance to the concession agreement executed on February 14, the AAI handed over the Mangaluru airport to Adani group on lease for 50 years. Exchange of a symbolic key was held at 00:00 hrs on October 30, it said.

Another tweet by AAI on Friday night said that senior AAI officials will assist Adani Group for the next three months, and AAI employees and support staff will remain with the group for three years.

Director of Mangaluru airport V.V. Rao handed over the airport to Ashutosh Chandra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adani Mangaluru International Airport Ltd., and Behnad Zandi, CEO of Adani Airports.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Adani Mangaluru International Airport Ltd. on October 21, in connection with providing services such as customs, immigration, plant and animal quarantine, health, MET, and security (collectively called Reserved Services).

Simultaneously, AAI has also signed three separate communication, navigation, and surveillance-air traffic management (CNS-ATM) agreements with the concessionaires for the provision of CNS-ATM services at three airports [Luknow, Ahmedabad, and Mangaluru].

The concession agreements for the operations, management, and development of the three airports through public-private partnership (PPP) were signed on February 14 this year.

The Union Cabinet in July 2019 taken a decision to lease these three airports to Adani Group.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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