With hundreds of companies spread across six continents, and thousands of employees contributing to their diverse business, from common salt to luxury cars, Tata Group is undoubtedly the most global Indian conglomerate. As a business group that prides itself in understanding its social responsibility and proactively taking steps for society’s betterment, they have left an indelible impact on the progress of this nation. While steel manufacturing company still forms the crux of their empire, they have diversified to almost every sector you could imagine. More than a hundred years after the foundation of Tata Group was laid down by a young Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the embers of this empire glow brighter than ever.
Run Of The Mills
Born to a family of Parsi parents in the small town of Navsari in Gujarat, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata became the first to break off from the Priesthood that he inherited from his forefathers. Thanks to a liberal education that he received from Elphinstone College in Bombay, Jamsetji was acquainted with world literature early in his life, and though he developed a great affinity for academics and reading, he eventually called entrepreneurship his true calling.
Joining his father’s small business at the age of 20 made him wiser beyond his age, and he used all the lessons to start a trading company in 1869, with a fund of Rs21,000.
In 1869, Jamsetji would go on to buy a dilapidated oil mill in the heartland of Bombay and convert it into a cotton Mill, then known as Alexandria Mills. It soon turned into a profitable venture, but Jamsetji would sell this to a local merchant and move to England, to understand the cotton trade in cities like Manchester and Lancaster.
In September 1874, he returned to the country and invested Rs15lakh to set up Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company. Three years later, when Queen Victoria was sworn in as Empress of India, Jamsetji established Empress Mill, in the city of Nagpur, after taking 10 acres of swampy land from Raja of Nagpur.
Nerves Of Steel
After the textile business gathered pace, Jamsetji vowed to establish the first Indian steel factory – the idea came to his mind when he attended a lecture by famous essayist Thomas Carlyle in Manchester. But his attempt to modernise the nation didn’t sit well with the colonial masters who responded by throwing numerous blockades on his way. To find the perfect place for his venture, Jamsetji would seek the help of a renowned geologist and metallurgist, Charles Page Perin.
Jamsetji would bring Perin back to India, where the New Yorker, along with his team of fellow geologists, embarked on the most adventurous journey of life. Saddled on his bicycle, Perin would brave man-eating tigers, elephants, and wild bears in a luscious jungle before he found the perfect place to set up the steel plant: Sakchi (Jharkhand).
As Perin prepared to note down his findings, he received the news of Jamsetji’s demise. While Jamsetji’s death threatened to send the plans awry, his son Sir Dorabji Tata and his cousin RD Tata remained undeterred in their pursuit. They raised ₹2.32 crore from 8000 Indians by listing the company’s share for subscription, and set up the plant in 1907. Five years later, they produced the first ingot of steel.
In 1914 when the First World War started, Tata Steel became one of the major steel suppliers to the Allied force. After World War I ended, Viceroy Lord Chelmsford thanked the company for its invaluable support, and renamed Sakchi to Jamshedpur, as we know it today.
Learning To Fly: The Airline Odyssey
The nation’s first airline, Air India, owed its existence to Jehangir RD Tata’s lifelong passion for flying. During his summer holiday in northern France, Jehangir was mesmerised by the sight of Louis Bleriot’s pilot Adolph Pegoud landing an aircraft on the beach. At the age of 15, his resolve to become a pilot became stronger when he took his first ride in Hardelot.
Nine years later, JRD Tata would become the first Indian to get a flying license, after passing the test with flying colours. In October 1932, he took off from Karachi and landed in Mumbai, without any hiccups. This was when Tata Air Lines was launched, and though their revenue soared from the mailing business, they launched their first passenger flight, from Bombay to Delhi, in 1937.
In 1946, the Indian government acquired a 49% stake in the company, and rechristened Tata Air Lines to Air India. Two years later, Air India started international service to European nations.
The Story Of Taj
If you’ve done a fair bit of quizzing in your school days, chances are you’d have come across this set of questions: Which is the first building in Bombay to be lit by electricity; which is the first building to have electric elevators, ice-making machines, American fans, merchandised laundry, and polishing machine? The answer to all of these is the Taj Mahal Palace, the iconic hotel that has witnessed some of the most iconic historical events inside its premises.
As folklore goes, the idea to build this edifice on the bank of the Arabian Sea occurred to Jamshedji Tata after he was refused to enter Watson’s Hotel. Jamsetji took it upon himself and vowed to build a hotel where every Indian could walk with pride. Today it has become one of the biggest hotel chains in the world, boasting over 150 properties across the world.
“The Taj Hotel is on such a scale of magnificence and luxury that at first it rather took one’s breath away. There is no other hotel in India which will bear comparison with it, as it is in a rank of its own,” wrote Mr GA Mathews in his Diary Of An Indian Tour.
India’s Own Cosmetic Brand
When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru got to know that Indian women were splurging money on foreign cosmetic brands, he asked JRD Tata to build an indigenous brand. This is how Lakme, India’s first cosmetic brand came into existence. Lakme was the French name of Lakshmi, a goddess of wealth in Hindu mythology, and also the name of a popular opera show in Paris at that point.
Spreading Its Wings
Having established themselves as the premier steel manufacturer, Tata always showed great curiosity to take a plunge in different sectors. Two years after giving the country its own cosmetic brand, they partnered with the Volkart Brothers to form Voltas, the country’s leading air-conditioning brand. They also cemented their presence in the beverage industry, with brands like Tata Salt and Tata Tea. In 1968, Tata Consultancy Services was started, the first Indian software services company. In 1968, Tata Consultancy Services was started, the first Indian software services company. In 1984, they joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) to form Titan, a brand that revolutionised the business of watches in India. Outside India, they created a ripple in the European market by completing the acquisition of Corus Steel. They also acquired Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford in for $2.3 billion. Currently, they are finding their feet in the e-commerce sector.
