Ratan Tata, born on December 28, 1937, is the chairman of Tata Sons and the Tata Group, overseeing major companies like Tata Steel and Tata Motors. He has received numerous awards, including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, and is involved in various organizations focused on trade, industry, and social development. Tata emphasizes the importance of ethical business practices and community development, aiming to transform the Tata Group into an institutional enterprise rather than a patriarchal one.

1. WELCOME TO
The contributor

2. RATANJI DADABHOY TATA
Born :- 28 dec 1937 age (74)
Recidence :- colaba mumbai India
Nationality :- Indian
Ethnicity:- Parsi
Alma mater :- Cornell University, Harvard University
Occupation :- Chairman of Tata Group
Years active :- 1962-present
Spouse :- unmarried
Awards :- Padma Bhushan (2000)
Padma Vibhushan (2008)
KBE (2009)

3.  Ratan Naval Tata is born 28 December 1937) is
the present chairman of Tata Sons and therefore,
Tata Group.
 He is also the chairman of major Tata companies
such as
 Tata Steel,
 Tata Motors,
 Tata Power,
 Tata Consultancy Services,
 Tata Tea,
 Tata Chemicals,
 The Indian Hotels Company and
 Tata Teleservices.

4. HONOURS, AWARDS AND
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various
organisations in India and he is a member of the
Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry.
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 program board
of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS
initiative.

5. 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, University of Southern California and Cornell
University. He also serves as a board member on the
Republic of South Africa's International Investment
Council and is a member of the Asia-Pacific advisory
committee for the New York Stock Exchange. In 2010, he
joined BMB Group as an advisory board member

6. GROUP’S CONTRIBUTION
 The group’s contributions were not confined to
entrepreneurship; Jamsetji was the moving force
behind the setting up of the Indian Institute of
Science and, after independence, there came the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences. There was no
ulterior motive in establishing these institutions; the
objective was to help further the skills and
capabilities of India and Indians. We have never
allowed our companies or the individuals in them, to
become dealers or commission agents or
profiteers.

7. Before independence, the Tatas had a big role to play
in laying the ground for an industrialised India.
That changed, to a certain extent, after freedom
arrived and the country started pursuing the Soviet
model of development, with the emphasis on the
public sector.
That’s when many private enterprises, the Tata group
among them, became targets for nationalisation. We
went through a phase when we became an
endangered species. For a long period of time we
stood still — because we were not allowed to
expand, we were not allowed to enter any new
businesses.
That’s why the Tatas, bar a few exceptions, did not
really grow between the 1950s and the 1970s.

8. HOW IS THE TATA BRAND PERCEIVED IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE? IS
ENOUGH BEING DONE TO PROMOTE IT?
 We are probably not doing enough to build the Tata
brand globally, but we are one of the most
recognisable corporate names coming out of India.
Apart from size, market capitalisation and the rest,
we are seen as a poster boy for ethical business,
trustworthy and fair. That’s a model western
companies feel comfortable with. We are also seen
as a caring employer who understands its corporate
and social responsibility, not just in the context of its
own people but also the communities around our
facilities and businesses.

9.  Some foreign investors accuse us of being
unfair to shareholders by using our
resources for community development. Yes,
this is money that could have made for
dividend payouts, but it also is money that’s
uplifting and improving the quality of life of
people in the rural areas where we operate
and work. We owe them that. By providing
support in areas such as health and
education, livelihoods and the environment,
we are trying to — as much as we can —
take the wellbeing that exists within our own
plants and facilities to the world immediately
outside them.

10. MANY PUNDITS PUT DOWN THE SUCCESS THE TATA GROUP IS ENJOYING
TO RATAN TATA. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THAT? HOW DO YOU THINK
HISTORY WILL RATE YOUR CONTRIBUTION?
I do not know how history will judge me, but let me
say that I’ve spent a lot of time and energy trying to
transform the Tatas from a patriarchal concern to an
institutional enterprise. It would, therefore, be a
mark of failure on my part if it were perceived that
Ratan Tata epitomises the group’s success. What I
have done is establish growth mechanisms, play
down individuals and play up the team that has
made the companies what they are. I, for one, am
not the kind who loves dwelling on the ‘I’. If history
remembers me at all, I hope it will be for this
transformation.