Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Thursday unveiled the statue of JRD Tata, founder of Tata Airlines and father of civil aviation in India, to mark his birth centenary celebrations. A large gathering, despite pouring rains, cheered the minister who unveiled the seven-feet three-inch statue made of fibre-glass, placed at old airport premises of Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport here. "Placing of the statue serves as an example to a large number of employees who work here as what Mr Tata did during his time," Air India spokesperson said. 

JJ Irani, director of Tata Sons, represented the house of Tatas while some of the prominent persons who attended the ceremony included Union civil aviation secretary Ajay Prasad, Air India chairman and managing director V Thulasidas and Capt D Bose and Capt BS mathur, both of whom worked as pilots during Mr Tata’s tenure and later headed the airline.