tata heritage history

8/8/2019 Tata Heritage History

1/5

1868-1931 Foundation

1868

The foundation of what would grow to become the Tata Group was laid in 1868 by Jamsetji

Nusserwanji Tata then a 29-year-old who had learned the ropes of business while working inhis fathers banking firm when he established a trading company in Bombay.

A visionary entrepreneur, an avowed nationalist and a committed philanthropist, Jamsetji Tata

helped pave the path to industrialization in India by seeding pioneering businesses in sectors

such as steel, energy, textiles and hospitality.

1877

Empress Mills, a textiles venture set up in Nagpur in central India in 1877, was the first of the

big industrial projects undertaken by the Tata Group. Jamsetji Tata was by this time, though,

already gripped by what would the three great ideas of his life: setting up an iron and steel

company, generating hydroelectric power and creating an institution that would tutor Indians in

the sciences.

None of these ideas would come to fruition while Jamsetji Tata lived, but they were realized in

full measure by those who followed him.

1892

In 1892, Jamsetji Tata established the JN Tata Endowment to encourage Indian scholars to take

up higher studies. It was the first of a multitude of philanthropic initiatives by the Tata Group.

Over generations, members of the Tata family have bequeathed much of their personal wealth to

the many trusts they have created.

These trusts today control 65.8 per cent of the shares of Tata Sons, the holding company of the

group, and they support an assortment of causes, institutions and individuals.

1903

The most dazzling of the Tata enterprises that came into being during Jamsetji Tatas lifetime

was the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, which opened for business in 1903. Legend has it that

Jamsetji Tata set his mind on building it after being denied entry into one of the city's fancy

hotels for being an Indian.


2/5

Today, the Taj Group of Hotels is a byword for luxury and quality, with standout properties

across the world.

1904

Following Jamsetji Tatas death, in Germany in 1904, the chairmanship of the Tata Group passedto the elder of his two sons, Sir Dorab Tata, who accomplished the daunting task of turning his

fathers extraordinary ideas into reality.

Sir Dorab was the force behind the setting up, in 1905, of the Tata Iron and Steel Company.

Seven years later, India's first iron and steel plant, in Jamshedpur in the eastern part of the

country, started production. In 1910, the Tata Group broke new ground once again, this time by

generating hydroelectric power from a site near Bombay.

1911

In 1911, seven years after his death, Jamsetji Tatas long-cherished dream of establishing aninstitution where Indians could cultivate their scientific temper was realised. The Indian Institute

of Science, set up in Bangalore, would nurture some of the brightest minds in India.

It was the first of a clutch of centres of learning and research that would come up with the

substantial and steadfast support of the Tata Group.

1912

The Tata Group presently employs about 350,000 people. Taking good care of this large family

is a priority for the Group, and it has a tradition to stay true to while doing so.

Tata Steel introduced eight-hour working days in 1912, well before it became statutory in much

of the West, and the first Tata provident fund scheme was started in 1920 (governmental

regulation on this came into force in 1952). The Tata townships, and the facilities they have, are

another example of the manner in which the Group extends itself to care for its employees.

1932-1989 Consolidation

Change of Guard

By the time of Sir Dorab Tatas death in 1932, the Tata Group had consolidated in businesses

while also getting in new areas, notably insurance and the production of soaps, detergents and

cooking oil.

Sir Dorab was succeeded as chairman of the Group by Sir Nowroji Saklatwala. In 1938,

following Sir Nowrojis demise, 34-year-old JRD Tata (left) was appointed as the new


3/5

chairman. He would lead the Tata Group for the next 53 years with wisdom, foresight and a

rare grace that touched everyone he met.

JRDs Passion

The first of JRD Tatas big moves in business was born of a childhood fascination for flying. In

1929, he became one of the first Indians to be granted a commercial pilot's license.

In 1932, Tata Aviation Service, the forerunner to Tata Airlines and Air India, Indias national

carrier, took to the skies. The maiden flight in the history of Indian aviation took off from Drigh

Road in Karachi, now in Pakistan, with JRD Tata at the controls of a Puss Moth. In 1953, the

Indian government nationalized Air India.

New Beginnings

During the more than five decades that JRD Tata was at the helm, the Tata Group expanded

regularly into new spheres of business. The more prominent of these ventures were Tata

Chemicals (1939), Tata Motors and Tata Industries (both 1945), Voltas (1954), Tata Tea (1962),

Tata Consultancy Services (1968) and Titan Industries (1984).

The post-independence era in India, right up to the early 1990s, was a time of tight government

controls on business, but despite this the Tata Group managed to grow considerably.

1990 Onwards

The Legacy Continues

The beginning of the 1990s ushered in plenty of change in Indian business. Economic reforms

opened up many sectors, signaling increased competition and the arrival of foreign companies.

JRD Tatas death, in 1993, symbolized the end of an era in more ways than one.

Ratan Tata, who took over as chairman, would guide the Tata Group as it faced a host of

challenges in a fast-changing business environment where old rules did not apply and new

realities were taking hold.

New Horizons


4/5

Ratan Tata, who took over as chairman, would guide the Tata Group as it faced a host of

challenges in a fast-changing business environment where old rules did not apply and new

realities were taking hold.

In 1996, Tata Teleservices was set up to tap into Indias burgeoning telecom market; in 1998, the

Indica, Indias first indigenously made car, was successfully launched; in 2002, the Groupacquired VSNL, Indias top international telecom service provider; in 2004, Tata Consultancy

Services went public in the largest private sector initial public offering in the Indian stock

market; and, in 2008, the trailblazing Tata Nano was unveiled.

United Whole

The Tata Group is now more cohesive and united than it has ever been. This is no accident;

rather, it is the outcome of a set of policies that have been emphasized and reinforced by

chairman Ratan Tata and the Group Corporate Centre, the top decision-making body in the

Group. Theres more to the new-world Tata.

The pursuit of business excellence has become the norm and there is a focus on innovation. What

have not changed are the Groups emphasis on ethical business practices and its commitment to

the communities in which it operates.

Global Goals

The new millennium has seen Tata companies looking beyond Indian shores for growthopportunities and a global footprint. Acquisitions of foreign enterprises have been one way of

doing this.

The first big acquisition was by Tata Tea of Tetley back in 2000. In 2004, Tata Motors acquired

the heavy vehicles unit of Daewoo Motors, South Korea; in 2005, Tata Steel acquired the

Singapore-based NatSteel and Tata Chemicals secured a controlling stake in Brunner Mond

Group, UK. The grandest of them all came in 2007, when Tata Steel acquired Corus, the Anglo-

Dutch giant, in a landmark deal, and in 2008 Tata Motors added the Jaguar and Land Rover

brands to its stable.

Future Sense

The future promises plenty for the Tata Group as it sets the agenda for the next phase of its

evolution. The words of Group chairman Ratan Tata sum it up best: One hundred years from

now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger, of course, than it is now. More importantly, I hope the


5/5

Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India best in the manner in which we operate,

best in the products we deliver, and best in our value system and ethics.

Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond

India, that we become a global Group, operating in many countries, an Indian business

conglomerate that is at home in the world, carrying the same sense of trust that we do today.

tata heritage history

Documents