It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Ratan Naval Tata, popularly called Ratan Tata, was the father of Indian industry’s globalisation.
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In his death at the famous Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, late on Wednesday night, following a brief age-related illness, the country has lost not just a distinguished industrialist, who opened the doors to globalisation for the Indian industry through high profile foreign acquisitions, but a truly uncommon man of humility, compassion and philanthropy.
Recipient of two of the highest national civilian honours of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan, the scion of the Parsi family, originally from the erstwhile Baroda state (now Gujarat), he has been variously described by a mourning nation as ‘Taj’ of India, industry legend, National icon, the ‘modest’ Indian tycoon, an iconic business leader, a titan of the Indian industry, etc.
Maharashtra government observed a day of mourning with all official celebrations being cancelled for the day on Thursday. The state cabinet, in a special sitting, also passed a resolution urging the Government of India to confer the highest national civilian award the ‘Bharat Ratna’ on him.
Ratan Tata was cremated with full state honours later in the day on Thursday in the electric crematorium of Worli cremation ground with hundreds of mourners in attendance. Earlier his body was kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) for a few hours for people to pay their last respects.
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In the two decades Ratan Tata presided over the Tata Sons empire as its chairman, after which he was designated as its Chairman, Emeritus, he expanded the conglomerate taking its operations to 100 countries, and in the process raising the group’s revenues from an estimated $5.7Bn in 1991 to nearly $100Bn in 2012. By March end 2024, the group’s revenues stood at $165Bn.
He played a pivotal role in major foreign acquisitions, adding British tea brand Tetley, second largest global tea brand, in 2000; buying out British luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Company in 2007; and Anglo-Dutch steel-maker Corus in 2008 to expand the group’s global presence.
Ratan Tata’s leadership also saw Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rise to global prominence.
Fulfilling his long-cherished desire and commitment to the welfare of the common man, and overcoming the most demanding challenges, Tata launched the world’s most affordable car Nano @Rs 1,00,000 in 2008, though it eventually turned out to be a commercial disaster because of it being tagged as the “cheapest car”.
Conceptually, Nano was targeted to be offered as an affordable all-weather and safer mode of transportation to the millions of two-wheeler owners, but the cheapest car tag which got attached to it proved its undoing.
One of the last major achievements of the Tata group during Ratan Tata’s lifetime was the successful reacquisition of Air India in 2021, restoring it to the Tata group nearly 90 years after it was nationalised.
A licensed pilot who would occasionally fly the company plane, Ratan Tata never married and was known for his quiet demeanour, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work. About two-thirds of share capital of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company, is held by the philanthropic Tata Trusts which invest heavily in healthcare, education and employee welfare.
His humane approach to life and employees was starkly visible during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. One of the locations for the mass shootings by the terrorists was the iconic Taj Mahal hotel owned by the Tata group. On hearing about the terrorist attack, Tata had rushed to the hotel but on being denied entry into the hotel he stood near the hotel for three days and nights till the terrorists were neutralised.
As many as 33 people, including hotel staff, were killed in the hotel attack. Tata ensured that the families of the victims received in lumpsum the salaries the victims would have received during the remaining period of their employment with the company. He also ensured that the families were looked after well. The surviving employees continued to get their salaries even while the hotel remained closed for massive repairs.
Even the affected street vendors who did business around the hotel were suitably compensated.
During the Covid pandemic, the Tata Group was at the vanguard of the private sector’s relief efforts, helping arrange necessary equipment and kits, which were in short supply in the country, from global suppliers. Overall, the group donated Rs 1500 crore for the relief effort.
That is the legacy of compassion and commitment to public good that Ratan Tata has left behind for the group to cherish and steadfastly carry forward.
For more detailed information regarding the Tata group’s history and journey: https://www.britannica.com/money/Ratan-Tata
