Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’s
A true corporate titan, he always benchmarked himself and his group’s products against the world’s best. So should the rest of the country.
IN INDIA, the Tata name is ubiquitous. People see it on the packet of tea that wakes them up in the morning, on the buses that carry them to work, and in the hotels where they go for a drink after work. No other name is as representative of the possibilities, and failures, of the nation’s private sector – and so all Indians will have felt the passing of the group’s patriarch Ratan Tata this week.
In his ambition and through his mistakes, Ratan Tata captured the potential of a global, modern India. The centuries-old conglomerate he led has grown along with his country, from the first stirrings of an industrial economy in the subcontinent with its steel plant in Jamshedpur, through the dreary years of socialism and the burst of post-liberalisation optimism.
Ratan Tata took over in 1990, a year before India began to deregulate and open up. Under him, a group that made steel, trucks, and chemicals quickly diversified into small cars and information technology.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
