End of an era: Ratan Tata, titan of India Inc, passes away
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, passed away in Mumbai. He was 86 years old. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has declared that his last rites would be performed on Thursday, October 10, with state honours.
Speculations about his health started doing the rounds after Tata was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital earlier this week. On Monday, October 7, he issued a statement on X saying that his admission was only for age-related medical checkups. His health worsened in the next 48 hours and the clock stopped ticking close to midnight on Wednesday, October 9.
Tata bade adieu but left an indelible mark on both the Tata Group-for the remarkable growth it achieved and for putting it firmly on the global map-but also on the wider Indian industry.
He graduated from Cornell University in 1962 with a bachelor’s in architecture, and later he joined Harvard Business School’s advanced management programme in 1975.
After his bachelors, Tata briefly worked with architectural firm Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, before returning the same year to India to join the Tata Steel. His immediate growth thereafter could be marked in decades:
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1971: Appointed director-in-charge of the National Radio and Electronics Company.
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1981: Tata Industries Appointed chairman; he set the goal of transforming Tata Industries into a think-tank where group strategies could be shaped and new ventures in high-technology businesses promoted.
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1991: Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company for the salt-to-software conglomerate: he succeeded the legendary J.R.D. Tata; the chairman till his retirement on December 28, 2012.
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Tata also led other major group companies during his tenure while heading Tata Sons, such as Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages-now Tata Consumer Products, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels, and Tata Teleservices. He was on the international advisory boards of varied firms such as Japanbased auto major Mitsubishi Corporation and US finance company JP Morgan Chase.
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Under his chairmanship, the revenues of the Tata Group saw an increase by about 40 times, crossing over $100 billion. He steered the group past many a challenge, the Asian financial crises of the late 1990s and the global financial crisis of 2008 being the most significant ones. He spearheaded the globalization of the group and acquisition of marquee brands like Tetley Tea and luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover.
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Under him, Tata Motors-the country’s largest truck and bus maker-started car manufacturing with the Indica hatchback. In 2008, he launched his pet project-Tata Nano, the cheapest and perhaps the most practical city car of its time. He dreamt up the Nano after years of seeing Indian families travelling on scooters in bad weather, often with a child sandwiched between the parents.
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The Nano project, however, was besieged with problems from the start. Local protests forced Tata Motors to shift the plant from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand, Gujarat -after having invested around Rs 1,000 crore in Singur. Then, safety concerns emerged after a few units caught fire. As negative perception around the car snowballed, sales dropped and the Nano was eventually discontinued in 2020.
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In 2012, Tata relinquished the chairmanship at Tata Sons to Cyrus Mistry, the son of Pallonji Mistry of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The latter had a stake of 18.4 per cent in Tata Sons. Mistry had proven himself at Shapoorji Pallonji; he was only 44 years old when he took the chair at Tata Sons. But no one could have imagined what was to come next. He was handpicked in October 2016 and unceremoniously sacked.
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Some blamed this falling out on the poor showing of some group companies under Mistry, while others cited his handling of critical issues like plans to sell the loss-making steel business in Europe or the full-blown legal spat with Japan’s NTT Docomo. Signs were visible early on when Mistry sacked Raymond Bickson, managing director of Indian Hotels at that time, and hired a veteran from rival Hyatt Hotels.
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While Tata had expanded the group globally by acquiring dozens of companies, including JLR, Tetley Tea and Corus Steel, debts had also mounted. Mistry kept focussing on asset sales to reduce the debt. That, reportedly, did not go down well with Tata. He reportedly wanted Mistry to turnaround the steel business in Europe and not sell it. Another sore point was the sale of some of the overseas properties of Indian Hotels.
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IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List estimated Tata’s net worth to be around Rs 3,800 crore in 2022. Though his refined tastes were muted somewhat, he was big on philanthropy. He was chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Allied Trusts as well as the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts. He was chairman of the council of management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and trustee of Cornell University and the University of Southern California.
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Tata was also an ardent animal lover. The Small Animal Hospital, one of his dream projects, opened in Mumbai earlier this year. Spread over 98,000 sqft, the facility houses every possible diagnostic and treatment specialty in veterinary care.
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Tata was celebrated at home and abroad. In 2008, the Indian government conferred on him the nation’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan. His last international honour was his appointment as an officer of the Order of Australia in 2023.
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He also has honorary doctorates from several Indian and foreign universities.
