Air India's Dreamliner is being assembled in Seattle

So Air India's first Dreamliner (Boeing 787) is being assembled in Seattle. The cabinet has just approved the final purchase, and today's newspapers carry full page ads from Air India announcing the eminent arrival of this modern aircraft.

To understand why this is such a ridiculous situation, read this, from Wikipedia:

As of March 2011, Air India has accumulated a debt of Rs. 42,570 crore (approximately $10 billion) and an operating loss of Rs. 22,000 crore, and is seeking Rs. 42,920 crore from the government. For the past three months (June, July, August 2011), the carrier has been missing salary payments and interest payments and Moody’s Investor Service has warned that missing payments by Air India to creditors, such as the State Bank of India, will negatively affect the credit ratings of those banks. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) blamed the decision to buy 111 new planes as one of the major causes of the debt troubles in Air India.

The Board of Directors of any corporation are responsible for prudently managing the affairs of the corporation in a way that serves the best interests of its stakeholders. The problem with Air India is that the key stakeholder who has quietly signed a blank check for all this fiscal irresponsibility is the Indian taxpayer - people like you and me who diligently pay our taxes and withstand the irrational scrutiny of the avaricious taxman.

And the Air India board and civil aviation authorities are having a right royal party at our expense.