RATAN NAVAL TATA: A VISIONARY INDUSTRIALIST

The Tatas, however, have remained a prominent group and a force to reckon with not only in the country but also abroad.Credit for it especially over 22 years goes to Ratan Naval Tata (RNT), Chairman Emeritus of the gigantic group.

Unfortunate Demise

Unfortunately, the humble man who donated 102 Billion Dollars to charity(more than Bill Gates), breathed his last at 11 p.m.on 9th October. Born on 28th December, 1937, he was 86.

In the words of Prime Minister,” he was a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being. He provided stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses”.

The Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu too mourned his death and called him “Proud Son of India”.

Further, N.Chandrasekharan, Chairman of Tata Sons said in a statement,” It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr.Ratan Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation. His contribution to philanthropy and development of society has touched the lives of millions. From education to healthcare, his initiatives have left a deep rooted mark that will benefit generations to come.”

Jamshedpur Connection

Thousands of citizens and employees of Tata Group at Jamshedpur gathered to pay rich tributes to RNT, who considered Jamshedpur his “second home. “After all, he began his career as a Junior Executive in this town in 1963-64 at TELCO (now Tata Motors). A rare combination of humility and humanity, he visited Jamshedpur 26 times. Tatas had excellent reputation in this area, so much so, a job seeker would prefer joining Tatas as opposed to a Government organisation.

Early Life & Education

A nephew of JRD Tata, he had an unhappy childhood as his foster parents got separated rather early in his life.He was, therefore, brought up by his Grand Mother.After schooling in Mumbai, he went on to do Graduation in Architecture & Structural Engineering from the Cornell University.He also secured an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.He was also a trained pilot.Standing in favour of ethical business, he was simple and soft spoken but extremely dynamic in his work.He was a legend of modern India and became the most respected corporate leader.

It was not easy to lead 350,000 employees in more than one hundred countries.

Reforms within & Takeover Abroad

As a successful captain of Indian industry, not only he strengthened companies of the group in the country but also succeeded in taking over some companies abroad. These were Tetley, Corus, Jaguar-Land Rover and Brunner Mond. As the British banks declined to provide finance, he had to rely on Indian banks, such as SBI for the needful. In 2004 Tata Motors bought the South Korean Daewoo Motors commercial vehicle arm for 102 million Dollars. Soon the company began making dyes for Jaguar, Ford and Toyota. Besides such takeovers, Tatas supported research on Sustainable Development at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.

He thought differently as far as ventures inside the country were concerned. His iconic projects in this regard were:Water Purifier Swach, Indica and Nano cars and Ginger budget hotels.

Nano Car For Common Man

He was deeply committed to customer satisfaction and service.As a philanthropist, he touched the lives of millions In India and abroad. He thought of making the cheapest car on seeing a family of four getting wet in rain in 2003. Thus Nano car came into being. When Nano car project moved from West Bengal to Gujarat under compelling circumstances, RNT fulfilled the promise of setting up a world class Tata Medical Centre at Kolkata.

Challenges Within

His gradual rise to top was not liked by many of top heads of Tata companies : Russy Mody (uncrowned king of Jamshedpur) at TISCO, Ajit Kerkar at Indian Hotels and Darbari Seth at Tata Chemicals. Besides Nani Palkhivala too was a force to reckon with within the group.

In addition, he successfully tackled various challenges that came in the wake of economic liberalisation in the country.In his opinion, the group companies had to work according to changed ethos of 1991 reforms.He succeeded in increasing the share of Tata Sons in Tata Steel by 34%, in Tata Motors by 36% and in TCS by 72 percent. Tata Motors has now become market leader in manufacturing electric vehicles.

Setbacks

RNT too had to face couple of setbacks during his career. His dream of manufacturing Nano, an affordable car for the middle class sparked a political storm in West Bengal. Later the plant had to be shifted to Gujarat. But frequent electrical challenges to the new car compelled the company to finally shelve the project in 2018.

Another bitter disagreement within the group which became public, involved Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman of Tata Sons. He was accused of failing to turnaround poorly performing businesses. On the other hand, he accused RNT of interfering and creating an alternative power centre at the group.He had to be ousted ultimately. In the legal battle that followed, RNT proved victorious.

Aviation Interests

RNT played a vital role in developing Tata group’s aviation interests.When they could not launch an airline of their own due to red tapism, Air Asia and Vistara, both having foreign collaborations were supported and pushed forward by them. Ultimately, they took over Air India when Govt.of India decided to privatize it owing to its large work force and mounting losses.

Crisis Management

RNT was known for maintaining calm and fostering decisive leadership especially during crisis situations. During 26/11 Pak terrorist attack on Taj Mahal Palace Hotel he personally was present and focused on ensuring safety of employees and trapped occupants. He energised his personnel to resume hotel’s operations within 21 months.

RNT, A Lonely Man

RNT never married. He kept his personal life private. Nevertheless, once he had deep connection with an American woman while working in Los Angeles. His Grand mother’s illness and Indo- China war of 1962 are reported to have played a spoilsport. Later a Hindi film actress claimed to have been in relationship with him.

RNT, nevertheless, is reported to have admitted that he longed for a wife and family at times. A pet dog by the name of Goa gave him company for the last 11 years. Santanu Naidu, one of the youngest G.M.’s of Tata Group was also seen being close to him since 2022.

Cremation

He was cremated (not left at Tower of Silence as per Parsi customs) with full State honours. Lakhs of people came to offer floral tributes to him.It included his officers & employees, family members, corporate heads, politicians, film stars, social activists etc.

End Of An Era

With his departure an era has come to an end. It would be difficult to find such a polite, unassuming and helpful person with a clean heart. A person of deep compassion, his public persona was larger than life. He had commitment to excellence, integrity and innovation. Overall, he was a firm believer in ‘Action speaks louder than words’.

He once said “Slow success builds character, fast success builds ego”.

When JRD Tata retired, the official cartoonist of Air India stated on a hoarding in Mumbai :

“TATA DOES NOT MEAN GOOD BYE”

Readers may decide whether the above message equally applies to Ratan Naval Tata.

May His Soul Rest in Peace

(Alok K.Shrivastava is a former Chief Secretary of Sikkim)