If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together. Ratan Tata really walked far and walked keeping people together. Ratan Tata attributed simplicity and humility. He is a beacon of integrity and will continue to inspire for generations to come. But on 9th October 2024, India lost this visionary leader, remarkable industrialist, and a great philanthropist leaving behind his great legacy to follow. Precision Grow pays tribute to Mr. Ratan Tata. This blog honors, Mr. Ratan Tata, one of the greatest industrialists of the century, and tries to capture moments that define him.
- In 1961, Ratan Tata began his career’s revolutionary journey, when he rejected a job offer from IBM and started handling a blast furnace at Tata Steel. It was the time when he was working on the shop floor of Tata Steel at Jamshedpur.
- In 1971, he became the Director-in-Charge of the NELCO (National Radio and Electronics Company Ltd.). This company was in financial crisis. Ratan Tata put huge efforts into improving the business. But his efforts were not enough.
- In 1977, he was transferred to Empress Mills, another struggling subsidiary of Tata Group. However, his ideas to survive the mill were rejected by company executives. So, the mill was shut down.
- 1983, was the year when the whole country experienced a wave of patriotism through a single commodity – a salt. He revolutionized the salt industry with the country’s first iodized salt by marketing “Tata Namak, Desh ka Namak”.
- In 1991, J.R.D. Tata stepped down and Ratan Tata succeeded him as the new chairman of Tata Sons. Under his leadership, several policy changes were made such as retirement age, and direct reports from subsidiaries leading to the streamlining of vast company operations.
- In 1998, Ratan Tata launched his dream project. It was India’s first hatchback ‘Tata India’. But the sales were low. So, he decided to sell Tata Motors to US auto company Ford. When he met Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford, he was humiliated by Bill, and the deal was canceled. Nine years later i.e. in 2008, when Ford went bankrupt, Tata Motors bought two iconic brands of Ford i.e. Jaguar and Land Rover. Ratan Tata took his sweet revenge.
- In 2000, he received Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award by the Government of India. Also, same year, Tata Tea acquired Tetley Group and became the second-largest tea brand in the world.
- In 2004, TCS launched its IPO and soon it became one of the giants in the IT sector. It became the first Indian IT company to cross $1 B in revenue.
- In 2006, Tata Sky entered the DTH space. Now it is a leader of the sector by having more than 18 million connections in more than 2lakh towns in India.
- In 2008, along with saving Ford Motors from bankruptcy, he received the second highest civilian award i.e. Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.
- In 2009, he launched the world’s cheapest car ‘Nano. It was launched for the common man and its cost was just 1 lakh rupees. Though it was not a great success in terms of sales, it fulfilled the common man’s dream of owning a car.
- In 2010, he donated $50 M to Harvard Business School for the establishment of an executive center. It was also named as ‘Tata Hall’ in his honor.
- In 2012, on his 75th birthday, he retired from the Tata Group. Cyrus Mistry became the new chairman. However, Ratan Tata again presided as the interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017.
- In 2014, he made the largest donation in IIT Bombay’s history. He donated 95 crores to their research and development center.
- In 2022, Tata Group acquired Air India from the government. As a pilot and passionate about aviation, he played a crucial role in this acquisition.
- In 2024, Tata Group launched a cancer hospital in Guwahati in association with Assam government. Also, Ratan Tata launched his last project which was close to his heart - Small Animal Hospital, Mumbai.
Here, we have tried to connect the dots from Ratan Tata’s inspiring life. But there are so many great things about him that are impossible to jot down in a blog. On 9th October, this visionary industrialist left us and the whole of India mourned his demise. But his vision, patriotism, simplicity, and kind-heartedness will keep him immortal in the memories of all of us.
Comments
Post a Comment