IN a first-of-its-kind initiative, a Jet Airways employees consortium and London-based AdiGroup on Friday (28) announced a partnership to bid for 75 per cent of the airline, which is facing bankruptcy proceedings, through the NCLT process.
The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency petition filed by the State Bank of India (SBI) on behalf of 26 lenders on June 20 for the debt-laden company which owes around Rs 250 billion (£2.86bn) to lenders, vendors, lessors, and employees.
"Jet Airways Employee Consortium and AdiGroup are delighted to announce their partnership to bid for acquisition of 75 per cent of Jet Airways through NCLT process," a joint statement said from the consortium and the UK investor said.
"This is a new dawn in the history of India Aviation of operating an airline through Employee Initiative programme where every single employee of Jet Airways will become an owner of the airline," it said.
At a press conference in New Delhi, Sandeep Vishwanathan, chairman and managing partner of Adigroup, said, "It is a real blessing in disguise that we have here with us the NCLT process for three reasons. Firstly, the fact that the NCLT themselves have accorded this an asset of national importance, that itself means that they want to complete the process in 90 days, which is significant."
"Second is that it removes any open offer restrictions, which means every penny that we bring as investors will go into rescuing the airline," he said.
"Thirdly, we got such a phenomenal opportunity to get to know the employees and the management.... This (bid) actually gives us an opportunity to have them as joint owners," Vishwanathan said.
As Jet Airways ran out of funds, it shut down its operations on April 17 this year which led to a sudden rise in domestic and international airfares.
As a result, the central government decided to temporarily allocate the domestic slots as well as international flying rights of Jet Airways to other airlines who could start new flights immediately and fill the supply gap.
Vishwanathan said that in order to restart the airline, "we need these slots".
"Some of these prime slots are in Delhi and Mumbai and we would need them back. We have been given reassurance that these slots have only been given for a period of time," he added. Asked how much AdiGroup plans to invest in Jet Airways, Vishwanthan said that the investment can be anywhere between Rs 25bn and Rs 50bn.
"We are waiting for (financial) data from RP (Resolution Professional) through this process.... We need clarity on that," he added.
About shareholding, he said that if successful, AdiGroup will take up to 49 per cent, the employee consortium will take up to 26 per cent and the remaining shares will be held by the lenders.
"We have informed the NCLT through the RP" about our interest in bidding for the airline, he clarified. "We expect that if everything goes according to plans, we will be asked to put formal Expression of Interest by the end of the month," he said.
Captain Ashwani Tyagi, general secretary of Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots (SWIP), said the airline was like a family to him and it was "challenging yet exciting journey to revive Jet Airways". He said that the employees are all together in this bid.
"In this employee consortium, every employee will contribute. And every employee will come together," Tyagi said.
Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association (JAMEWA) president Ashish Kumar Mohanty told that the airline has currently around 9,000 employees on its payroll and that "99 per cent of them have agreed to be a part of this consortium".
Mohanty added that many ex-employees, who left the airline in last few months, have also agreed to be a part of this consortium.
(PTI)
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Anurag Bajpayee's Gradiant: The water company tackling a global crisis
In a world increasingly defined by scarcity, one resource is emerging as the most quietly decisive factor in the future of industry, sustainability, and even geopolitics: water. Yet, while the headlines are dominated by energy transition and climate pledges, few companies working behind the scenes on water issues have attracted much public attention. One of them is Gradiant, a Boston-based firm that has, over the past decade, grown into a key player in the underappreciated but critical sector of industrial water treatment.
A Company Born from MIT, and from Urgency
Founded in 2013 by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan, two researchers with strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gradiant began as a scrappy start-up with a deceptively simple premise: make water work harder. At a time when discussions about climate change were centred almost exclusively on carbon emissions and renewable energy, the trio saw water scarcity looming in the background.
Their insight was that some of the world’s largest industries—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage—were facing acute water-related challenges long before the general public grasped the issue. “Without water, these industries don’t just slow down; they stop,” Bajpayee has often remarked. What Gradiant offered was not just a way to save water, but a way to rethink how it is used, recycled, and valued.
The Engineers Behind the Mission
Anurag Bajpayee, the company’s CEO, whose academic path took him to MIT, where he completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on water treatment technologies. It was there that he met Govindan, a fellow engineer and now Gradiant's co-founder and COO, whose expertise complemented his in fluid mechanics and process engineering.
Unlike many founders who drift towards the language of venture capital and corporate strategy, Anurag Bajpayee and his team remained grounded in the technical problem: how to make industrial water treatment more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainable. The company still bears the imprint of its founders’ engineering roots. Gradiant is less Silicon Valley startup and more MIT lab, albeit one that has quietly expanded across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
What Gradiant Actually Does
The company specializes in designing and building bespoke water treatment and reuse systems for industrial clients. Its technologies are aimed at enabling factories and plants to reclaim water that would otherwise be discarded as waste, reducing both the amount of water withdrawn from natural sources and the volume of contaminated water discharged.
At the heart of Gradiant’s portfolio are proprietary technologies such as Counter Flow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) and Selective Ion Recovery (SIR), developed from the Gradiant founders’ early research at MIT. Unlike traditional methods like reverse osmosis, these systems are designed to handle highly contaminated or complex wastewater streams, enabling clients to extract clean water even from previously unusable sources.
But Gradiant does not sell “one-size-fits-all” machines. Each project is tailored to the customer’s unique needs. For a semiconductor plant in Singapore, this might mean achieving ultrapure water reuse levels of 98%; for a food and beverage factory in Texas, it might be about safely treating wastewater for discharge while minimising energy consumption. The company's approach—sometimes called "solutioneering" internally—is both its competitive advantage and its raison d'être.
Expansion Without the Usual Hype
Gradiant’s growth has been quietly impressive. From its first commercial project in the oil and gas sector, it has gone on to complete over 500 installations worldwide. The company has raised more than $400 million in funding from a mix of institutional investors and private equity firms, achieving so-called “unicorn” status, with a valuation reportedly over $1 billion.
Unlike many green tech firms, Gradiant’s expansion has not been accompanied by flashy marketing campaigns or grandiose statements. Instead, the company has preferred to build credibility client by client, particularly in Asia, where water-intensive industries and growing environmental pressures make its services indispensable. Anurag Bajpayee, never one to speak in superlatives, frames the company’s expansion as a “response to urgent need” rather than a triumph of business.
Inside Gradiant’s Operations
At its core, Gradiant is still an engineering-first company. Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan, both technically trained and heavily involved in the company’s operations, have instilled a culture where R&D is not just a department but the lifeblood of the business. The firm currently holds more than 250 patents globally, a testament to its ongoing commitment to innovation.
But Gradiant’s success is not just about technology. The company has differentiated itself by offering not just equipment but full-service solutions, including project design, construction, operations, and maintenance. This full-stack approach has been particularly attractive to clients in highly regulated industries, who need water management solutions that work seamlessly and reliably without requiring deep in-house expertise.
Gradiant’s clients include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies in sectors like microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Some, like semiconductor producers, rely on Gradiant to help them meet stringent water reuse targets while maintaining ultra-clean production environments.
Navigating a Changing World
Gradiant operates at the intersection of several converging trends: climate change, regulatory pressure, and industrial decarbonisation. In many regions, water scarcity has become the limiting factor for industrial growth, sometimes more than energy availability or supply chain constraints.
While public attention often focuses on domestic water use, it is industries that consume the lion’s share of freshwater. Gradiant's pitch is straightforward: industries will have to do more with less, and Gradiant offers the tools to make that possible.
Anurag Bajpayee is keenly aware of the paradox that water, despite being vital, is often underpriced and undervalued, especially when compared to energy. “We don’t pay what it’s worth, only what it costs,” he told an audience at a recent conference. Yet, the landscape is shifting. Regulators, investors, and companies themselves are increasingly acknowledging water as both a business risk and a social responsibility.
What's Next for Gradiant?
Looking ahead, Gradiant appears poised to play a central role as industries adapt to water scarcity. Yet, Anurag Bajpayee remains cautious about the hype cycle. "The problem we’re working on isn’t going anywhere," he says. "It’s not a question of innovation alone, but of execution—of making sure these solutions actually reach the places that need them most."
In an era where water risk is increasingly material to business, Gradiant’s quiet, technically grounded approach may prove to be exactly what is needed.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Eye. The publication does not endorse or take responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made by the author.)