Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate established by earlier generations of his family. is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... , Bombay redirects here. ... The Tata Group is Indias largest conglomerate, with revenues in 2005-06 of Rs. ...

Early years

Ratan Tata was born into an old Parsi family of Bombay (present-day Mumbai), the first child of Soonoo & Naval Hormusji Tata. Ratan's childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. His mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai. This article is about the Parsi community. ...

He was schooled at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. During college, Ratan joined Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. In 1962, after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering, Ratan joined the family business. Ratan turned down a job offer from IBM, following the advice of J.R.D. Tata, and entered the family business. Today, Ratan maintains that he came back because of his ailing grandmother who had raised him. Ratan joined the Tata Group in December 1962, when he was sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. He worked on the floor along with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnaces. He is not married. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cornell redirects here. ... For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ... Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. ... , Jamsehdpur   (जमशेदपूर in Devanagari) is a city located in the state of Jharkand in India, founded by the late Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata. ... Tata Steel, formerly known as TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited), is a steel company based in Mumbai, India. ...

Career

In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan realised the opportunity that Nelco provided and assumed that hi-tech was the way to go in the future. He conveyed this vision to J.R.D. Tata and asked for further investment. J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's suggestions. Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. ... Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. ... A dividend is the distribution of profits to a companys shareholders. ...

From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and wiped out its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, and the demand for consumer goods slumped. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and, following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive. Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A young Indira Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, during one of the latters fasts Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (19 November 1917 - October 31, 1984) She was the Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Tata is one of the oldest and largest business conglomerates in India, with revenues in 2005-06 of $21. ... The term lockout has the following uses: Lockout (industry) is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents some or all employees from working, even to the extent closing the business. ...

In 1977, Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from powerlooms had made a large number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan's insistence, some investment was made, but it did not suffice. With the market for coarse and medium cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turning adverse, the Empress went into an inevitable financial tailspin. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was clearly unwilling to divert large funds from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time. So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the mill. In a later interview with the Hindustan Times, Ratan would claim that the Empress needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around. But Palkhivala opposed further investment and the mill was closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision. Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... Bombay House is an historic privately owned building situated near Flora Fountain in the heart of Mumbai, India. ... Tata may refer to: Tata Group, a multinational company based in India Tata Motors, one of Indias largest automobile company known for its hatchback motorvehicle Tata Indica Tata Steel, worlds fifth largest steel producer Tata Consultancy Services, Indias largest IT company Tata Airlines, now Air India Tata... Tata may refer to: Tata Group, a multinational company based in India Tata Motors, one of Indias largest automobile company known for its hatchback motorvehicle Tata Indica Tata Steel, worlds fifth largest steel producer Tata Consultancy Services, Indias largest IT company Tata Airlines, now Air India Tata... Nanabhoy (Nani) Palkhivala (January 16, 1920-December 11, 2002), jurist and economist. ... Tata is one of the oldest and largest business conglomerates in India, with revenues in 2005-06 of $21. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

The important point that the troubles brought home to the senior directors in Bombay House was what had been clear to Ratan for quite a while: that the group's lack of cohesiveness was turning into a major disability. Thus, while the Birlas bailed out Jay Shree Textiles through a merger with India Rayon and the Bangurs arrived at a similar arrangement between Hastings Jute Mills and Shree Digvijay Cement, very little of such "blue-sky thinking" could be done for the Empress. Perhaps some lessons were learnt, and in 1988 (with ACC), the Tatas reasserted control at Ratan's behest. Bombay House is an historic privately owned building situated near Flora Fountain in the heart of Mumbai, India. ... The Birla family is a business house from India. ...

In 1981, Ratan was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses. Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian Stock Market. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. ...

Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. His dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 1 lakh (approx. US$2200). In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... A lakh (Hindi: लाख, Urdu: Ù„Ú©Ú¾, Bengali: , Tamil : இலட்சம்) is a unit in the Indian numbering system, widely used both in official and other contexts in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Tata Indica is a small hatchback automobile manufactured by Tata Motors of India. ...

On January 31st, 2007, Ratan Tata successfully pulled off one of the biggest acquisitions in Indian corporate history. Corus Group - an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer, was acquired by Tata Sons for an astounding £6.7 billion at the rate of 608 pence per share against a Brazilian steel company that had bid 603 pence. With the merger, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the sixth largest steel producing entity in the world. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... For other uses, see Corus. ...

Another feather of success got attached with this man when he presented the latest Tata four-wheeler model Tata Elegante at Geneva on March 6, 2007. This model was appreciated by all the global dealers of four-wheelers. In the meeting he told the press about his Singur-small-car plant. According to him, manufacture is going to start there soon and the first small car costing around Rs 1 lakh is going to be launched by the middle of 2008. Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German:   //, Italian: Ginevra //, Romansh: Genevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... INR may stand for: International normalized ratio, a laboratory test of blood coagulation the currency code for the Indian Rupee the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences the US Department of States Bureau of Intelligence and Research This is a disambiguation page — a navigational...

Awards and Recognition

Mr. Tata was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Bhushan on 26th January 2000, on the occasion of the 50th Republic Day of India. He serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 Mr. Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individuals from the corporate sector. ^[1] The Padma Bhushan is an Indian civilian decoration established on January 2, 1954 by the President of India. ... (Redirected from 26th January) January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Republic Day is the name of a public holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they first became republics. ...

Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, and of his alma maters: Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is a Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China. The Mitsubishi Corporation (MC, 三菱商事, Mitsubishi Shōji) (TYO: 8058) is Japans largest trading company (sogo shosha). ... American International Group, Inc. ... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ... Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the oldest management consulting firms in the world,[1] is a private corporation with headquarters in McLean, Virginia and over 100 offices on 6 continents. ... Alternate meanings: See RAND (disambiguation) The RAND Corporation is an American think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the U.S. military. ... Alma mater is Latin for nourishing mother. It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. ... Cornell redirects here. ... The Trojan Shrine, better known as Tommy Trojan located in the center of University of Southern California campus. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) is the largest transparently operated[2] charitable foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates in 2000 and doubled in size by Warren Buffett in 2006. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Hangchow) is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the Peoples Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. ... Zhejiang (also spelled Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics. Mascot: Beaver Affiliations: University of London Russell Group EUA ACU CEMS APSIA Universities UK U8 Golden Triangle G5 Group Website: http://www. ...

Bibliography and further reading

• Piramal, Gita (1997). Business Maharajas. New Delhi: Penguin. ISBN 0140264426. 
• Chairman Profile, Interviews and Press Articles. Tata Group Website.
• Dubey, Rajiv. "Interview with Ratan Tata", Businessworld, January 24, 2005. 
• "The Shy Architect: Ratan Tata has transformed India’s biggest company, and has done it alone.", The Economist, January 11, 2006. 
• "India's Tata wins race for Corus", BBC News, January 31, 2007. 
• Sinha, Suveen K. "Ratan Tata: The man with steely resolve", rediff.com, February 05, 2007. 
• Ratan Tata's speech in Video,DeshGujarat.Com

References