Ratan Tata has passed away but everything about his life and work continues to inspire people. There are many interesting incidents from his life that motivates people and give them a new perspective to look at life. Here are few significant thing to know about him.
Early Life
Ratan Tata was born on 28 December 1937, in Bombay (now Mumbai) into a Parsi Zoroastrian family. He was born at a time when India was under the British rule. He was the son of Naval Tata and Sooni Tata. His father Naval Tata was adopted at an age of 13, by Navajbai, wife of Ratanji Tata.
His parents got separated in 1948 when he was 10-year-old. He was then adopted and raised by Navajbai. He had a younger brother, Jimmy Tata and a half-brother, Noel Tata from his father’s second marriage to Simone Tata.
Education And Career
He did his schooling until 8th grade from Campion School in Mumbai and then continued further studies from Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, Bishop Cotton School in Shimla. He graduated from the Riverdale Country School in New York in 1955.
After completing High School, he enrolled in Cornell University and graduated with bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1959.
He joined the Tata group in 1961 for training and worked on the shop floor of Tata steel. Then, he joined Tata Sons in 1974 as the director. In 1981, he was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Industries. From 1986 to 1989, Ratan served as the Chairman of Air India.
He stepped in as Chairman of Tata Sons after retirement of J. R. D. Tata in 1991. He served as Chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1990 to 2012. He also served as interim chairman from October 2016 till February 2017. During his tenure the Tata group turned into global business and acquired Tetley, Jaguar, Land Rover and Corus around 2000. In 2008, he launched Nano car. He was also an investor and invested in more than 30 start-ups.
After serving for almost 50 years in Tata Group, he stepped down from the Chairman post of Tata Sons and took over the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Tata Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals.
He was honoured with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India in 2008.
Personal Life:
Ratan Tata never married and had no children. But in an interview in 2011, he once said, “I came close to getting married four times, and each time I backed off in fear or for one reason or another.”
Philanthropy
Apart from being a businessman, Ratan Tata was also a philanthropist and widely known for his philanthropic works. He was considered as the leading philanthropist of India. He extensively supported education, medicine and rural development. He also supported and donated to international universities. He helped UNSW Faculty of Engineering to develop Capacitive deionization to provide improved quality water to deficit areas.
A philanthropic affiliate of Tata Group, Tata Education and Development Trust, endowed a $28 million Tata Scholarship Fund to Cornell University to provide financial aid to undergraduate students from India. It has given donations and endoments to several universities like Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard Business School (HBS), Indian Institute of Science.
An Indian documentary television series Mega Icons dedicated an episode to Ratan Tata’s contributions.
Ratan Tata was fond of cars, he had interest in its design and mechanism. He liked to read books and listen to the music of 60s and 70s.
Also Read: Ratan Tata’s Heartfelt Last Instagram Post Draws Emotional Tributes – ‘Thank You For Thinking Of Me’
