New Delhi: Ratan Tata is someone who barely needs an introduction. He is one of the greatest Indian industrialists and a noted philanthropist who is remembered and revered for his humility and grace. Under his leadership, the Tata Group transformed form a largely India-centric group to a global powerhouse. Ratan Tata invested in numerous start-ups during his lifetimes and helped people in need. He was also an avid lover of animals, especially dogs and worked to improve their condition including the construction of a hospital. Today, on this birth anniversary, we will look at some lesser-know facts about Ratan Tata.
Lesser-known facts about Ratan Tata
The separation of parents
Born on December 28, 1937, in Mumbai (then Bombay), Ratan Tata was the son of Naval Tata and Soonoo Tata who was related to Jamsetji Tata. Hormusji Tata, his biological father was related by blood to the Tata family. When Tata was 10 years old, his parents got seperated. He and his brother Jimmy Tata were raised by their grandmother Navajbai R Tata in Mumbai’s Tata Palace. Even though Navajbai kept them in luxury with Ratan Tata going to school in a Rolls-Royce, she was a strict disciplinarian. Later, Tata would recall that he did not have a lot of friends, learnt how to play piano and played a lot of cricket in childhood.
Ready to settle in Los Angeles
Ratan Tata did his schooling at Campion and then at Cathedral and John Connon, both located in Mumbai. After finishing his schooling, he went to the US to study at the Cornell University and it was a turning point in his life. He fell in love with the country and the educational institution. He studied architecture and structural engineering at the Cornell and his years in the US from 1955 to 1962 would have a profound impact on him, shaping his character for the subsequent years. He was so charmed by the US that he was even ready to settle in Los Angeles.
Coming back to India
While Ratan Tata fell in love with the US, Navajbai’s health was deteriorating and hence, he was forced to come back to India. In a 2011 interview with CNN, he would look back at his days in Los Angeles and said that he was very happy there. He also said that he left the place before he should have left.
His first workplace in India was not Tata Group
Interestingly, Ratan Tata did not join the Tata Group straightaway after coming back to India. Instead, he got a job offer from the IBM and joined the organisation, which did not amuse JRD Tata. One day, he called Ratan and asked for his resume, since JRD Tata did not want him working for IBM. Ratan was in the IBM office at that time and there was only electric typewriters. He typed out his resume on it and gave it to him.
Beginning of journey with the Tata Group
In 1962, Ratan Tata was offered a job with Tata Industries. He spent six months in Tata Motors before joining Tata Steel in 1963. He rose to managerial position and even turned around the subsidiary National Radio and Electronics before it collapsed. In 1991, JRD Tata retired as the chairman of Tata Sons and named him his successor.
The consolidation of power
After JRD Tata passed away in 1993, Ratan Tata has to face stiff opposition to consolidate his control over the Tata Group. In face of immense flaks hurled at him, he maintained his usual decency and composure. The heads of several subsidiaries who previously enjoyed great operational freedom opposed Tata’s leadership. But he prevailed by implementing several policies, including retirement age, directing the subsidiaries to report to the group office and requiring them to contribute their profit to built the brand of Tata Group. Ratan Tata favoured young talents and innovation and the group was on its way to become a global business.
Expansion of Tata Group
Ratan Tata led the Tata Group for 21 years and during that time, the organisation’s profit increased by more than 50 times. Under his leadership, the group acquired Jaguar Land Rover, Corus and Tetley. It made Tata Group a global business power. Also, he conceptualised and spearheaded the development of the Tata Nano car.
Love for animals and philanthropy
Ratan Tata was known for his philanthropic activities and extensively helped people in need. He was the head of the two main trusts of the Tata Group, Sir Dorabji Tata and Allied Trusts and Sir Ratan Tata Trust and their allied trusts. A teetotaller and a nonsmoker, he never married even though he came close to doing so four times, as he revealed in a 2011 interview with CNN International’s Talk Asia.
Ratan Tata had great love for animals, especially dogs. His home always had pet dogs, as Ratan Tata once revealed that his home gets too quiet and lonely without them. He lost many pets to death, but after two or three years, he would adopt another pet to fill in the emptiness. Infact, his last project, which was also his dream project, was the construction of the Small Animal Hospital in Mumbai, a pioneering facility with advanced care for animals.
This article delves into lesser-known aspects of Ratan Tata’s life, from his childhood separation from his parents and near-settlement in Los Angeles to his initial employment outside the Tata Group and the challenges he faced consolidating power within the conglomerate. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
