The reason why Jamsetji Tata built the Taj Mahal Hotel was his love for Mumbai and India. For him, the 'why' was so powerful that it urged him to stake his reputation, withstand all scepticism, and invest a very large sum of resources to create the iconic hotel.
Indian industry's doyen Jamsetji Tata has emerged as the biggest philanthropist globally in the last century by donating $102 billion, as per a list of top-50 givers prepared by Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation.' Tata, the founder of what has now become a group spanning interests from salt to software, is ahead of others like Bill Gates and his now estranged wife Melinda who have donated $74.6 billion, Warren Buffet ($37.4 billion), George Soros ($34.8 billion) and John D Rockefeller ($26.8 billion), the list showed.
'Listing leads to greater transparency and shareholder oversight.'
The Indian Institute of Science topped the HRD ministry's 2017 national rankings. In 2016, the IISc was ranked among the world's top 15 universities in the Times Higher Education University Rankings. In his book The Creation of Wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century, R M Lala recounted how Jamsetji Tata's grand vision and immense personal contribution laid the edifice of arguably India's finest educational institution.
J R D Tata, chairman of the Tata group from 1938 to 1991, said that whenever he had to make a difficult decision, he would ask himself, what will be good for India, and what will be good for the Tatas. If he had a doubt, he would decide in favour of India. In the long run, it would turn out well for the Tatas too, he said, points out Arun Maira.
Veteran industrialist Venu Srinivasan has resigned from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, following a challenge to his appointment by a former trustee.
The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, the second-largest shareholder in Tata Sons, has publicly endorsed a listing of the Tata Group's holding company, aligning with the board's push for greater transparency and public accountability despite opposition from the Tata Trusts.
Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry's statement will be watched closely against the backdrop of the listing battle as well as the Tata leadership contest, with veto votes being cast over the reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as chairman of Tata Sons for a third term.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, announced he would not seek reappointment when his term ends in February 2027, following a series of departures by senior figures closely associated with former chairman Ratan Tata, including Vijay Singh and Mehli Mistry, amid a deepening power struggle and governance dispute within the Tata Group.
Tata Sons has the balance sheet to support them, for now.
N Chandrasekaran's decision not to seek reappointment when his term as chairman of Tata Sons ends in February 2027 signals a significant shift in leadership amidst an ongoing power struggle and governance disputes within the Tata Group.
We must take action to address the impediments to growth faced by our businesses and our economies. And we can only succeed by working together, says American Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
The upcoming Tata Sons board meeting in June could possibly throw some light on several critical issues that may have a bearing on the future of the corporate behemoth.
Tata Trusts announced that the trustees of the Bai Hirabai Trust will initiate proceedings to alter restrictive clauses in its trust deed, specifically those prohibiting non-Zoroastrians from serving as trustees. This decision follows a challenge by former trustee Mehli Mistry regarding the appointments of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, who allegedly did not meet the original Parsi Zoroastrian faith and residency criteria.
SP Group chairman Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry on Friday reiterated calls for public listing of Tata Sons to bring transparency, amid infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts which controls a 66 per cent stake in the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate. Shapoorji Pallonji family is the single largest minority shareholder with about 18.37 per cent in Tata Sons.
But the Tata Group is an established and growing brand in Australia, affirm top local managers.
The Tata Sons board has deferred a decision on the re-appointment of Natarajan Chandrasekaran as Chairman, signaling potential differences within the group. Concerns were raised about losses in certain group companies and the listing of Tata Sons.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and two other powerful trustees considered close to him blocked the reappointment of late Ratan Tata's close associate and businessman Mehli Mistry as trustee, deepening the rift at the philanthropic arm that controls the holding company of Tata Group, people familiar with the matter said.
The Tata Group is one of the very few Indian MNCs which has carved out a niche in China's highly competitive market, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The Tata Trusts disbursed more grants in the last 10 years than they did in the previous 100 years.
Two modules published by the NCERT, Swadeshi: Vocal for Local (for middle stage) and Swadeshi: For a Self-Reliant India (for secondary stage), carry excerpts from the prime minister's Independence Day address in which he stressed that self-reliance would drive India's journey towards a Viksit Bharat.
'The quality of a leader should be such that even if the leader is not there, the institution carries on.'
JRD was a philanthropist, a patron of the sciences and the arts, a man of rare sensitivity, a man with a passion for literature, fast cars, skiing, and flying; and above all a great leader.
Tata Motors' Nano, the small car seen as a symbol of India's expertise in frugal engineering, is likely to be launched on March 3. Billed as the world's cheapest, the small car's first recipients may be celebrities, including political leaders, social workers, sports stars and film stars.
Here stood a man who embodied the legacy of whatever Brand Tata stood for, embellished it, and departed into the long night, leaving the brand legacy for others to further enrich, notes R Gopalakrishnan.
Ratan Tata was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity.
Tata, who attended the annual gala event at the National Centre of Performing Arts after five years, was alluding to Chandra's presentation on the performance of the Tata group of companies.
Terms reveal that such premature redemption is allowable on dividend reset dates in case there is no agreement on the dividend rate
The aviation industry in India, through Air India, is a gleaming example of what the lack of corporate governance can do to a business, says Pratip Kar.
Let's take a look at 30 companies named after people.
Ratan Tata: A Life, the much awaited biography, reveals that after a year of 'parallel running', Tata began having second thoughts about Cyrus Mistry's 'suitability'. 'Mistry targeted Ratan, the man who had elevated him from virtual oblivion into the mainstream of the Tatas...'
Mistry exhorted the employees to carry forward the legacy of the group's founder Jamsetji Tata.
'When the bombing happened in the Taj Mahal hotel in 2008, that was a very sad moment, but he really took care of the people, took care of everybody and that was when you saw some of his best moments.' 'There are some things which we will never forget. That is when the best of a person comes out.'
One hundred years from now, of course, I expect Tata to be much bigger and more global than it is now.
Who do you think is -- or has been -- India's greatest entrepreneur?
Here is the Brahma Mantra for mankind. So long as the world has leaders with judgement -- humane, compassionate, and no-nonsense in their thinking -- natural intelligence will prevail, notes R Gopalakrishnan.
In one of the biggest donations by a business family in India, the family of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on Thursday committed to donating Rs 60,000 crore (around $7.7 billion) to various charities related to health care, education, and skill development. The commitment has been made to mark Gautam Adani's 60th birthday on Friday as well as the birth centenary year of his father Shantilal Adani. The corpus will be administered by the Adani Foundation. "At a very fundamental level, [programmes] related to all these three areas should be seen holistically and they collectively form the drivers to build an equitable and future-ready India.
Does India's most valued company give hope to its investors that they, too, might drive a Jaguar some day?
The Tata empire turns 150 this year. R Gopalakrishnan, former director, Tata Sons Ltd, imagines a conversation among the group's founder Jamsetji, his son Dorabji, his successor, Nowroji Saklatwala, and his successor, J R D Tata.
