Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ON
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to director jai singh marwah who gave us an opportunity to learn something new on
the basis of political aspect.
It is due to him we came to know deeply about the tata group.we also thank prof. arjun madan who guided us on preparing this
project.
GROUP NAME
SPRINTERS
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GROUP LEADER
TANVI R. SAWAL
1. Brief on the Stalwarts and their role in shaping the Business 193
house.
2. Conclusion. 203
Bibliography 205
• Section – I
• Section – II
• Section – III
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Points 1 & 2 (Saurav Sachdev)
• Section – IV
The story of the Tata Group of business unfolds with the birth of its founder
Jamshedji Tata in the small town of Navasari in Gujarat in 1839. He breathed his
last in 1904 in Germany. His parents were Nuseerwanji and Jeevanbai Tata.
Nusserwanji was the first businessman in a family of Parsi Zorastrian priests.
Destiny called him to Bombay where he started trading. Jamshedji joined him at
the tender age of fourteen. He took admission in Elphinstone College and while
still a student he married Hirabai Daboo. Jamshedji graduated in 1858 and joined
his father trading firm.
Those were turbulent times. The British had just managed to ruthlessly crush the
1857 Revolt. Since the age of twenty-nine Jamshedji continued to work in his
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father’s firm. In 1868 he started a trading company on his own with a capital of
Rs.21, 000/- His first step was to acquire a bankrupt oil mill and convert it into a
cotton mill which he renamed Alexander Mill. Two years later he sold it with a
good margin of profit. With this he set up a cotton mill in Nagpur in 1874. Queen
Victoria had just been declared the Empress and in keeping with the times
Jamshedji named it Empress Mill.Jamshedji was a unique personality. He did not
just think of innovative ways of manufacturing textiles but he devised new labor
practices that would satisfy the workers. In this way he was far ahead of his times.
It was not just his own personal success but also of those who worked for him and
his group. Jamshedji was in close contact with revolutionary thinkers and
nationalists like Dadabhai Naoroji and Pherozeshah Mehta and strongly influenced
by them. He came to the conclusion that economic self-sufficiency should go hand
in hand with political independence. The former should be the base of the latter.
Jamshedji had three key ideas in mind. He wanted to set up an iron and steel
company, world class learning institution and a hydroelectric plant.
Unfortunately during his lifetime none bore fruit but he had planted the seed,
which later took roots and spread its branches under the care of his successors. The
only achievement that he lived to see was The Taj Mahal Hotel. It was completed
in December 1903 for a princely amount of Rs.4, 21, 00,000/-In this too he was
inspired by nationalist thinking. In those days the locals, that is Indians, were not
allowed into the best European Hotels. Taj Mahal Hotel was a befitting reply to
this discrimination.
Tata Group is a private conglomerate with headquarters at Mumbai. The present
Chairman is Ratan Tata who took over from J.R.D. Tata in 1991. A member of the
Tata family is always the Chairman of the group. Its operations covers many fields
related to industry and allied activities concerned with know-how and its
application engineering, information technology, communications, materials,
automotive, chemicals energy, telecommunications, software, hotels, steel and
consumer goods.The statistics and figures of Tata Group speak for themselves. Its
revenue touches $967,229 million or $21.9 billion in 2005/06. This is equal to
2.8% of India’s GDP. There are about 246.000 employees in the Tata group as per
records of 2004. Market capitalization figure is $57.6 billion. There are ninety-six
companies operating in seven business sectors. Only twenty-eight of the ninety-
six in Tata Group are publicly listed. Tata operates in more than forty countries
across six continents. It exports products and services to one hundred and forty
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nations. The Charitable Trust of Tata holds 65.8% of the ownership of Tata group
TISCO now called Tata steel set up in 1907 India’s first iron and steel plant in
Jamshedpur, which is often called Tatanagar. Production actually started in 1912.
It produces steel at the lowest cost in the world. This is mainly because it is
assisted by group member concern that deals with the supply of raw material like
coal and iron. In 1910 was set up Tata Hydro-Electric Power Supply Company. In
1917 the Tata group made its debut in the field of consumer goods industry with
the setting up of Tata Oil Mill dealing in soaps, detergents and cooking oil. 1932
saw the establishment of Tata airlines. Tata Chemicals made its appearance in
1939. Telco now known as Tata Motors started to manufacture locomotive and
engineering products from 1945.
January 2007 is a watershed in the history of Tata Group. Tata steel made a
successful bid for UK based Corus Group, which was one of the world’s leading
steel and aluminum producers. After an unprecedented nine rounds of bidding Tata
finally clinched the deal. Tata offered to buy 100% stake in Corus at 608p per
share (all cash) totaling to a value of $12.04 billion. It has turned out to be the
biggest acquisition by any Indian company.
Tata Power is one of the largest private sector companies in India and supplies
power to Mumbai and parts of New Delhi. Then there are Tata Chemicals and Tata
Pigments. In the service sector there are Tata companies dealing with hotels,
general insurance and life insurance. Tata offers management, economic and
financial consultancy services. Tata is one of the best names in the world of
investments and shares. In the area of education Tata’s publishing house of Tata
McGraw Hill is a renowned name. Many renowned public sector companies and
research organizations like Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Energy Research
Institute and Air India (Tata Airlines) owe their origins to the name of Tata. Other
educational institutes are Tata Institute of Science now Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, Tata Institute Of Fundamental Research “ deemed University, Tata
Management Training center, Pune, Tata Institute Of Social Science “ deemed
University and National Centre for the Performing Arts.
The name of Tata is linked to consumer durables like tea, watches (Titan) Tata
Trent (Westside) to Tata Sky and even gold and diamonds like Tanishq brand of
jewellery.In information systems and communications the Tata name comes with
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Computational & Research Laboratories, INCAT, Nelco, Nelito Systems, TCS and
Tata Elxsi. There are software companies Tata Interactive Systems, Tata Infotech,
Tata Technologies Ltd, Tata Teleservices, Tatanet etc. Tata acquired VSNL, the
Indian telecom giant from Bermuda based Canadian company named Teleglobe in
2005.
The aim of Tata Group is to improve the quality of life in the society by virtue of
integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. The entire family
known as the Tata Group shares these values. Tata’s contribution to India’s
education, science and technology has been widely documented and respected.
The blue colored log of Tata speaks for fluidity as well as fountain of knowledge.
It can also be seen as a tree under which all are welcome to take refuge.
BRIEF HISTORY
1868
1874
1902
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1907
1910
1911
1912
1917
The Tatas enter the consumer goods segment as the Tata Oil Mills Company is
established to make soaps, detergents and cooking oils.
1932
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Tata Airlines,a division of Tata Sons,is established, opening up the aviation sector
in India.
1939
1945
1952
1968
1984
Titan Industries —a joint venture between the Tata Group and the
Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation
(TIDCO) — is set up to manufacture watches.
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1995
1996
1998
2000
Tata Tea acquires the Tetley Group, UK,in the fi rst major
acquisition of an international brand by an Indian group.
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2001
Tata-AIG — a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International
Group Inc (AIG) —marks the Group’s re-entry into insurance.
The Group’s insurance company, New India Assurance, was nationalised
in 1956
2002
2004
2005
2007
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In a major step in its unfolding strategy of growth and globalisation, Tata Steel
acquires Corus, the UK-based steel
company, for $ 12.1 bn,the biggest overseas acquisition
by an Indian company.Tata Steel is now the world’s 6th largest steel producer with
capacity of 26 million tonnes per annum and operations in 24 countries.
Our PEOPLE, by fostering team work, nurturing talent, enhancing leadership capability
and acting with pace, pride and passion.
Our OFFER, by becoming the supplier of choice, delivering premium products and services
and creating value with our customers.
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Our CONDUCT, by providing a safe working place respecting the environment, caring for
our communities and demonstrating high ethical standards.
MISSION
Our Mission in Tata is to improve the quality of life in India through leadership in
targeted sectors of national economic significance to which the Group can bring a
unique set of capabilities.
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Development of Tata Iron & Steel Company: Late 1800s-1980s
From the mid-1880s, Tata commissioned a series of surveys in India's coal-
producing areas, such as Bihar and Orissa in the northeast of the subcontinent, to
locate iron ore within easy reach of coal deposits and water, both essential
elements in steel production. He visited the United States to seek the advice of the
world's foremost metallurgical consultant, Julian Kennedy, and went to
Birmingham, Alabama, to study the coking process in action. In England in 1900,
he discussed his plans with the secretary of state for India, Lord George Hamilton.
In India, the way had been opened for private enterprise with the introduction of a
more liberalized mineral concession policy in 1899. With Julian Kennedy's help,
American specialists were brought in and began surveying in 1903. After a series
of disappointments, rich iron ore deposits were identified in the dense jungle in
Bihar at the confluence of two rivers near Sakchi three years after Jamsetji Tata's
death in 1904. Also involved in the surveying was Tata's nephew, Shapurji
Saklatvala, whose health suffered so much that he was sent to London to
recuperate. There, he joined his uncle's London office, which had been established
some years earlier to represent the interests of the family cotton business. His
energies were soon channeled away from business matters and into politics, and he
became Communist member of Parliament for Battersea North in 1922.
Four years after Tata's death, his sons Dorabji and Ratanji began development of
the Bihar site. A factory and township were carved from the jungle and named
Jamshedpur. A conscious decision was made to retain control within India of the
new enterprise, the Tata Iron and Steel Company, by seeking out Indian investors.
In the face of warnings that India could not afford a flotation of this size, the Tata
brothers set out to raise Rs 23.2 million in shares. Within eight weeks some 8,000
Indian investors came forward and the whole share issue was taken up. The Tatas
retained 11 percent of the stock for themselves. There were enormous initial
problems in clearing the Sakchi site and, once production began, in ensuring
that the coal was of a uniform quality. By 1916, however, production was meeting
expectations and during World War I the company exported 1,500 miles of steel
rails to Mesopotamia. Rapid expansion to support the Allied war effort was
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followed by Depression during the 1920s with escalating prices, transport and
labor difficulties, and a major earthquake in Japan, by now TISCO's biggest
customer. The company had to suspend its dividend for 12 out of 13 years in this
period and was on the brink of closing in 1924 when Sir Dorabji Tata had to
pledge his personal fortune to secure the necessary bank loans to keep the business
afloat. TISCO emerged from the 1930s, however, as the biggest steel plant in the
British Empire. World War II brought a resurgence in demand for Tata products
and the company specialized in the manufacture of armored cars, known as
Tatanagars, which were used extensively by the British Army in the North African
desert.
Following six years of almost continuous production to serve the war effort, it
became imperative in the late 1940s to begin replacement of the plant. In
association with Kaiser Engineering of the United States capacity was expanded
and a Modernization and Expansion Program (MEP) was launched in 1951,
upgraded four years later to the Two Million Ton Project (TMP) to give TISCO the
capacity to produce two million tons of crude steel. This was achieved in 1958 but
further expansion was put on hold during the 1960s while the country passed
through a period of devaluation and recession. By 1970, however, TISCO
employed 40,000 people at Jamshedpur, with a further 20,000 in the neighboring
coal mines.
shortages. TISCO soldiered on, however, and in the following decade began to
benefit from a relaxation of government control as a more pragmatic attitude to the
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importance of private sector industry emerged. In 1989, the Tata group increased
its stake in the steel firm to ward off any attempts by outside shareholders to gain
control of the company. By 1990, TISCO remained India's largest nonpublic
company, announcing a 30 percent increase in profits against a backdrop of general
depression in the Indian economy as a whole.
Promoter companies
Tata Sons and Tata Industries are the two promoter companies of the Tata
Group.A more detailed profile of these companies can be accesses through the
‘related info’ links on the right.
Tata Sons
Tata Sons is the owner of the Tata name and the Tata trademark, which are
registered in India and several other countries.About 66 per cent of the equity
capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the
Tata family.
Tata Industries
Tata Industries was set up Tata Sons in 1945 as a managing agency for business it
promoted. Following the abolition of the managing agency system, Tata Industries’
mandate was recast,in the early 1980s,to promote the Group’s entry into new and
high-tech areas.
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Tata Industries has over the last two decades, initiated and promoted the Group’s
ventures into several sectors, including control systems, information technology
,financial services ,auto components, advanced materials and telecom hardware.
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Business philosophy and policies
Philosophy
The current growth of our economy and the confidence with which we face the
world provide a compelling context in which Corporates need to engage with the
disadvantaged sections of our society. The central theme of the Tata Group
purpose statement, "Our Purpose in Tata is to improve the quality of life in the
communities we serve" is a powerful guiding statement. In the coming years, it
will increasingly be necessary for Corporates to encourage and generate internal
passion for volunteering and Community service. This will have a positive impact
not only on our competitive advantage but also on the corporate reputation.
Policies
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY
Tata Steel recognises that its people are the primary source of its competitiveness.
It is committed to equal employment opportunities for attracting the best available
talent and ensuring a cosmopolitan workforce.
It will pursue management practices designed to enrich the quality of life of its
employees, develop their potential and maximise their productivity.
It will aim at ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in all its dealing with its
employees.Tata Steel will strive continuously to foster a climate of openness,
mutual trust and teamwork
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b) Identify and develop potential leaders for future growth.
c) High potential employee working in congenial work environment.
Tata Steel recognises that its people are the primary source of its competitiveness.
It is committed to equal employment opportunities for attracting the best available
talent and ensuring a cosmopolitan workforce.
It will pursue management practices designed to enrich the quality of life of its
employees, develop their potential and maximise their productivity.
It will aim at ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in all its dealing with its
employees.
Tata Steel will strive continuously to foster a climate of openness, mutual trust and
teamwork
Finance Policies
A Tata company shall prepare and maintain its accounts fairly and accurately and
in accordance with the accounting and financial reporting standards which
represent the generally accepted guidelines, principles, standards, laws and
regulations of the country in which the company conducts its business affairs.
Internal accounting and audit procedures shall reflect, fairly and accurately, all of
the company’s business transactions and disposition of assets, and shall have
internal controls to provide assurance to the company’s board and shareholders
that the transactions are accurate and legitimate. All required information shall be
accessible to company auditors and other authorised parties and government
agencies. There shall be no willful omissions of any company transactions from the
books and records, no advance-income recognition and no hidden bank account
and funds.
A Tata company shall fully support the development and operation of competitive
open markets and shall promote the liberalisation of trade and investment in each
country and market in which it operates. Specifically, no Tata company or
employee shall engage in restrictive trade practices, abuse of market dominance or
similar unfair trade activities.
A Tata company or employee shall market the company’s products and services on
their own merits and shall not make unfair and misleading statements about
competitors’ products and services. Any collection of competitive information
shall be made only in the normal course of business and shall be obtained only
through legally permitted sources and means.
1868
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata starts a private trading firm, laying the foundation of
the Tata Group.
1874
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The Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company is set up,
marking the Group's entry into textiles and its first large-scale industrial venture.
1902
The Indian Hotels Company is incorporated to set up the Taj Mahal Palace and
Tower, India's first luxury hotel, which opened in 1903.
1907
The Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) is established to set up India's
first iron and steel plant in Jamshedpur. The plant started production in 1912.
Sets up its first office overseas, Tata Limited in London.
1910
The first of the three Tata Electric Companies, The Tata Hydro-Electric Power
Supply Company is set up. The second, Andhra Valley Power Supply Company
was established in 1917 and Tata Power in 1919. The first two companies were
merged with Tata Power in 2000 to form a single entity.
1911
The Indian Institute of Science is established in Bangalore to serve
as a centre for advanced learning.
1912
Tata Steel introduces eight-hour working days, well before such a system was
implemented by law in much of the West.
1917
The Tatas enter the consumer goods industry, with the Tata Oil Mills Company
being established to make soaps, detergents and cooking oils. The company was
sold to Hindustan Levers (now Unilever) in 1984.
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1932
Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons, is established, opening up the aviation
sector in India. Air India was nationalised in 1953.
1939
Tata Chemicals, now the largest producer of soda ash in the country, is
established.
1945
Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (renamed Tata Motors in 2003) is
established to manufacture locomotive and engineering products.
Tata Industries is created for the promotion and development of hi-tech
industries.
1952
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, requests the Group to manufacture
cosmetics in India, leading to the setting up of Lakme. The company was sold to
Hindustan Levers (now Unilever) in 1997.
1954
India's major marketing, engineering and manufacturing organisation, Voltas, is
established.
1962
Tata Finlay (now Tata Tea), one of the largest tea producers, is established.
Tata Exports is established. Today the company, renamed Tata International, is
one of the leading export houses in India.
1968
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's first software services company, is
established as a division of Tata Sons.
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1971
Tata Precision Industries, the first Tata company in Singapore, is founded to
design and manufacture precision engineering products.
1984
The first 500 MW thermal power unit at the Trombay station of the Tata Electric
Companies is commissioned.
1995
Tata Quality Management Services institutes the JRD QV Award, modelled on
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Value Award of the United States, laying
the foundation of the Tata Business Excellence Model.
1996
Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is established to spearhead the Group's foray into the
telecom sector.
1998
Tata Indica — India's first indigenously designed and manufactured car — is
launched by Tata Motors, spearheading the Group's entry into the passenger car
segment.
1999
The new Tata Group corporate mark and logo are launched.
2000
Tata Tea acquires the Tetley Group, UK. This is the first major acquisition of an
international brand by an Indian business group.
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2001
Tata AIG — a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International
Group Inc (AIG) — marks the Tata re-entry into insurance. (The Group's
insurance company, New India Assurance, set up in 1919, was nationalised in
1956).
2002
Tata Sons acquires a controlling stake in VSNL (renamed Tata Communications
in 2008), India's leading international telecommunications service provider.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) becomes the first Indian software company to
cross one billion dollars in revenues.
Titan launches Edge, the slimmest watch in the world.
2004
Tata Motors is listed on the world's largest bourse, the New York Stock
Exchange, the second Group company to do so after VSNL.
Tata Motors acquires the heavy vehicles unit of Daewoo Motors, South Korea.
TCS goes public in July 2004 in the largest private sector initial public offering
(IPO) in the Indian market, raising nearly $1.2 billlion.
2005
Tata Steel acquires Singapore-based steel company NatSteel by subscribing to
100 per cent equity of its subsidiary, NatSteel Asia.
VSNL (now Tata Communications) acquired Tyco Global Network, making it
one of the world's largest providers of submarine cable bandwidth.
Tata Sons completes 60 years of Tata operations in the US.
The Taj acquires a hotel run by Starwood, Sydney (renamed Blue) and takes over
management of The Pierre, NY.
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2006
Tata Sky satellite television service launched across the country.
Foundation stone for the Tata Medical Centre unveiled in Kolkata.
2007
Tata Steel acquires the Ango-Dutch company Corus, making it the world's fifth-
largest steel producer.
TCS inaugurates TCS China — a joint venture with the Chinese government and
other partners.
Computational Research Laboratories, a division of Tata Sons, develops Eka,
one of the fastest supercomputers in the world and the fastest in Asia.
The Taj acquires Campton Place Hotel in San Francisco.
Tata Steel celebrates its centenary on August 26, 2007.
2008
Tata Motors unveils Tata Nano, the People’s Car, at the 9th Auto Expo in Delhi
on January 10, 2008.
Tata Motors acquires the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from the Ford Motor
Company.
Tata Chemicals acquires General Chemical Industrial Products Inc.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
26
November 28, 2007
''The CFO is the conscience-keeper of the organisation'', said Tata Steel group CFO Kaushik
Chatterjee as he spoke at the 2nd CFO Strategies India 2008 on Monday, 15 September in
Mumbai, as he delivered insights on the remarkable rise of Tata Steel and its much-publicised
acquisition of Corus last year. Sourya Biswas reports from the venue.
When companies announce their annual reports or bask in the glow of successful
deals, it is often the CEOs who take centre stage. However, a lot of the
groundwork for a successful venture is done by another important functionary in
the corporate machinery, the chief financial officer who goes by the humbler
acronym of CFO.
All these and many other details were discussed at the closed-
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door two-day CFO Strategies India 2008 summit, organised by Dubai-based
Naseba, at the Hotel Le Meridien in Mumbai on 15 and 16 September 2008. On the
first day, Kaushik Chatterjee, group CFO, Tata Steel, treated the delegates to an
enlightening session.
Chatterjee candidly admitted that the earlier growth of the Tata Group had been
largely organic as previous political regimes had not been very conducive to
growth by acquisition, either domestic or international. He called the 10 years from
1992 onwards as the ''decade of transformation''.
Elaborating on the Arthur D Little recommendations for the group in the early 90s,
Chatterjee said that the consultancy had been quite vocal on the group's needs to be
internationally competitive, something quite alien to the house of Tata then.
However, the steep growth curve that had started in 2000 with Tata Tea's
acquisition of Tetley grew even steeper and faster with one acquisition after
another by different group companies, topping off with the $12.11-billion takeover
of Corus last year.
The meteoric growth of Tata Steel Chatterjee now spoke on the growth strategy for
Tata Steel in particular and how it grew to become the sixth-largest steel producer
in the world. Of course, he didn't forget to mention that his company continues to
be the ''lowest-cost steel producer in the world'' as well.
As of 2003, Tata Steel was essentially a one-site company, centred in the pristine
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locales of Jamshedpur - aptly named after the great man who envisioned the place,
Shri Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata. Although an ideal township where nature is in
perfect harmony with steel manufacturing, it was, admittedly, a small operation
with only 4 million tonnes annual capacity. Also, even though Tata Steel had a
leadership position in finished goods like automobiles and white goods, in many
other aspects it lagged behind its competitors. More importantly, as regards a
foreign presence, there was none
Chatterjee spoke of how the senior management got together at this point of time
to envision an aspirational target for the company, as well as brainstorm on how to
achieve it. From these high-level discussions emerged a target - 15 million tonnes
annual capacity by 2015, subsequently revised to 50 million tonnes - a ten-fold-
plus increase in just ten-plus years.
Of course, the company's jewel in the crown Jamshedpur was to be very much a
part of the action. Target capacity was set at 10 million tonnes by 2010, with
gradual increments over the years: 4 to 5 million tonnes in 2005 (already
achieved), 5 to 6.8 million tonnes in 2008 (on schedule) and 6.8 to 10 million
tonnes in 2010 (expected).
Chatterjee explained that such an ambitious target was born out of the
management's confidence in a vibrant world economy, with special emphasis on
engines of growth like India, China, Russia, South-East Asia and Brazil. Indeed,
many of the company's recent investments bear ample testimony to its belief in the
strength of emerging economies.
Coming back to Tata Steel's growth plans, the management had identified that
acquisition would definitely play an important part in the company's future plans.
This was especially true of developed markets where the costs of establishing
Greenfield projects were prohibitive
12 Mar 2008 , Mumbai : Tata Consultancy services , the leading IT services, business
solutions and outsourcing organization has announced plans to organize its global
operations into integrated, customer-centric units to enhance customer focus, drive
operational agility and address new growth opportunities in the market.
The new global operating model will provide customers with a single view of TCS
encompassing project delivery and relationship management and enable a sharper focus on
the customer.
This structure will also provide more opportunities for leadership growth at all levels in
the organization and encourage the next generation of leaders by empowering group heads
to run their unit with growth and profit responsibilities.
“As we scale up over 100,000 employees, TCS needs a structure that allows us to build a
nimble organization to capture new growth opportunities,” said S. Ramadorai, CEO and
MD. “This will create a framework that is scalable for growth across markets and provide
focus on strategic initiatives like asset leveraged solutions, platform-based BPO as well
other new initiatives,” added Mr. Ramadorai.
“The modular structure will simplify our interface with customers and drive agility in all
areas of operations. The structure will also allow us to adapt to specific customer and
market requirements while ensuring a uniform global service delivery,” said N.
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Chandrasekaran, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director.
In the new operating model, all necessary delivery, domain and technology expertise and
resources will be embedded in these units to promote greater collaboration with the
customer. All operating units will be supported by a common group of organizational
infrastructure units, such as the Technology Excellence, Process Excellence, Resource
Management, and Shared Services groups.
The new structure will also support greater focus for strategic initiatives that will help
drive non-linear revenue growth. In addition to TCS Financial Solutions, and the Small &
Medium Business Solutions, the company has constituted a new unit for Platform BPO
Solutions. These three Strategic Growth Businesses will operate as independent units that
will leverage TCS sales, delivery and customer relationships as required.
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• The Chairman of Tata Steel, Mr Ratan Tata will continue to chair the
Strategy and Integration Committee. Mr.Jim Leng, Mr.B Muthuraman,
Mr.Philippe Varin, Dr. Tridibesh Mukherjee, Mr.Rauke Henstra, Mr.Hemant
Nerurkar, Mr.Koushik Chatterjee and Mr.Jean-Sébastien Jacques are
members of this Committee.
• Both Tata Steel and Corus entities will have Executive Committees chaired
by the MD, Mr B Muthuraman and the CEO, Mr Philippe Varin
respectively.
• A Joint Executive Committee for Tata Steel Group will meet quarterly to
review overall performance against the Group ambition. This committee will
be co-chaired by the MD of Tata Steel and the CEO of Corus.
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
32
There are two decision-making bodies that define and direct the business
endeavours of the Tata Group. These are called the Group Executive Office and
the Group Corporate Centre.
The Group Executive Office (GEO) defines and reviews the business activities of
the Tata Group and is involved in implementing programmes in corporate
governance, human resources, the environment, etc. The chief objective of the
GEO is to make the Tata Group more synergistic; it does this by strengthening the
relationship between the Group and its companies.
The GEO creates a shared understanding of a Tata company's current activities, its
strengths and its weaknesses. It then addresses the most strategic issues facing the
company. Apart from this, the GEO has reviewed the Group's business portfolio
and clustered companies into seven business sectors. The GEO assesses what
unique value a company adds to a particular business sector and, conversely, what
unique value the Group can bring to that company.
Besides Chairman Ratan N Tata, the GEO comprises R Gopalakrishnan, Ishaat
Hussain, Kishor Chaukar,Arunkumar Gandhi and Alan Rosling.
The Group Corporate Centre (GCC) is a forum at which broad policy issues
relating to the growth of Tata companies are reviewed and the entry into new areas
are discussed. The GCC also plays a key role in protecting and promoting the Tata
brand in India and across the globe.The GCC also provides advisory services to
Tata companies in the areas of Human Resources, Finance,Legal, and other
functional areas as and when required.Apart from this, the GCC from time to time,
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reviews Tata companies’ business portfolios across business sectors. The GCC
comprises Chairman Ratan N Tata, NA Soonawala, JJ Irani, RK Krishna Kumar, R
Gopalakrishnan,Ishaat Hussain, Kishor Chaukar, Arunkumar Gandhi and Alan
Rosling.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(As on 14th April, 2008)
Mr R N Tata (Chairman)
Mr James Leng (Non - Executive Deputy Chairman)
Mr Nusli N (Company Director)
Wadia
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Mr S M Palia (Company Director)
Mr Suresh (Financial Institutions' Nominee)
Krishna
Mr Ishaat (Board Member)
Hussain
Dr Jamshed J (Board Member)
Irani
Mr Subodh (Board Member)
Bhargava
Mr Jacques (Non - Executive Independent
Schraven Director)
Dr Anthony (Non - Executive Independent
Hayward Director)
Mr Philippe (Non - Executive Non independent
Varin Director)
Mr B (Managing Director)
Muthuraman
Dr T Mukherjee (Non Executive Director)
Mr Andrew (Non Executive Independent
Robb Director)
MANAGEMENT
(As on 14th April, 2008)
Mr B Managing Director
Muthuraman
Mr H M Chief Operating Officer
Nerurkar
Mr A D Baijal Vice President & Tata Steel
Group Director, Global Mineral
Resources
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Mr R P Singh Vice President, Engineering
Services & Projects
Mr Koushik Vice President, Finance & Tata
Chatterjee Steel Group CFO
Mr Anand Sen Vice President, Flat Products &
TQM
Mr Abanindra Vice President, Raw Materials
M. Misra & CSI
Mr Varun K Vice President, Chattisgarh
Jha Project
Mr Om Vice President, Shared
Narayan Services
Mr Chief Human Resource Officer
Radhakrishnan
Nair
Mr Partha Vice President, Corporate
Sengupta Services
Mr H Jha Vice President, Safety & Long
Products
Mr N K Misra Vice President & Tata Steel
Group Head, M&A
Mr B K Singh Vice President, Orissa Project
Mr J C Bham Company Secretary
Mr H C Kharkar Vice President, MD Office,
Mumbai
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
Board of Directors:
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Mr.H.M.Nerurkar Mr. Harsh K Jha Mr. Ajoy Roy
Chairman Managing Director Independent Director
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Mr. Subhasis Dey
CFO and Company Secretary
Mr. Sudhin C. Mitter
General Manager, Marketing & Sales
Mr. Rajesh Mishra
C.E.O. Tata Metaliks Kubota Pipes Ltd.
Mr. Debasish Misra
General Manager, Redi SBU
Dr. Ashok Mohanty
Chief of Human Resources (Corporate)
Mr.P.Daniel Kumar
Chief Manufacturing System, Kharagpur
Tata Steel, formerly known as TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited), is
the world's 5th largest and India's largest steel company with an annual crude steel
capacity of 28 million tonnes. It is a Fortune Global 500 company with a rank of
315. It is based in Mumbai, India. It is part of Tata Group of companies. Tata Steel
is also India's second-largest and second-most profitable company in private sector
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with consolidated revenues of Rs 1,32,110 crore and net profit of over Rs 12,350
crore during the year ended March 31, 2008.
Its main plant is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, though with its recent
acquisitions, the company has become a multinational with operations in various
countries. The Jamshedpur plant contains the DCS supplied by Honeywell.The
registered office of Tata Steel is in Mumbai. In the year 2000, the company was
recognised as the world's lowest-cost producer of steel. The company was also
recognized as the world's best steel producer by World Steel Dynamics in 2005.
The company is listed on BSE and NSE; and employs about 82,700 people (as of
2007).
Management
Tata Steel is a limited company registered in India under the Companies Act, 1956.
Set up in 1991, the Tata Strategic Management Group (Tata Strategic) ranks
among the top three management consulting fi rms in South Asia.
Mumbai-based but with a presence in SAARC and West Asian countries, Tata
Strategic has completed over 500 engagements with more than
100 clients across countries and industry sectors. Its clientele includes medium to
large private sector companies in India, multi-national corporations
including select Fortune 500 companies, public sector enterprises, the Government
of India and a cross-section of companies within the Tata Group.
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Today over 60% of its business comes from non-Tata clients and 25% from
international clients. Tata Strategic has a team of more than 70 consultants,
recruited from top business schools in India and abroad or laterally from industry.
The team is aided by a panel of experts, each with over 20 years of industry
domain expertise.
Tata Strategic works with clients across the following industry sectors:
Tata Strategic addresses ‘top-of-mind’ needs of the client top management through
a range of contemporary offerings spanning the areas of strategy formulation,
organisation effectiveness, competitiveness enhancement and business analytics.
International Experience
Tata Strategic has on-site assignments from clients in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
multiple countries in West Asia (Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Dubai). Clients from
Germany, UK and the United States also work with Tata Strategic frequently. Tata
Strategic also formulates India entry plans for global companies and provides
implementation support to them.
- Tata Steel Group has announced a new organization structure effective from
41
January 01, 2008 as follows:
Tata Steel Group comprises of two entities, namely, Tata Steel (including Tata
Steel Thailand and NatSteel Asia) and Corus Group Ltd. In order to realise this
ambition, a new organisation is announced on November 28, 2007, which is
effective from January 01, 2008.
* The Chairman of Tata Steel, Mr. Ratan Tata will continue to chair the Strategy
and Integration Committee. Mr. Jim Leng, Mr. B Muthuraman, Mr. Philippe Varin,
Dr. Tridibesh Mukherjee, Mr. Rauke Henstra, Mr. Hemant Nerurkar, Mr. Koushik
Chatterjee and Mr. Jean-Sebastien Jacques are members of this Committee.
* A Group Centre is created for functions that are to be performed with a common
approach across the Tata Steel Group. These functions are Technology &
Integration, Finance, Strategy, Corporate Relations & Communications and Global
Minerals.
The executives responsible for these functions will report to the MD of Tata Steel
and the CEO of Corus:
REVISED VISION
43
Ratan Tata Quotes
One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now.
More importantly, I hope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in
India.. best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and
best in our value systems and ethics. Having said that, I hope that a hundred years
from now we will spread our wings far beyond India.
Vision, implementation, risk taking, and meeting the needs of a changing economy
are all apparent in Tata's pet project: the creation of Indica. "I believed in the
product. In fact I was very much involved in conceiving its initial fundamentals
and design parameters. Yes, it's like seeing a child being born, almost limb-by-
limb.
Today we have in excess of 50,000 Indicas on the road and I feel a sense of great
exhilaration every time I come up next to one. I have an urge to roll my window
down, tap on the Indica's window and ask the owner: How do you like it?" A look
at the Tata’s strategic plan for Indica.
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Mission
The Group Purpose
Our purpose in Tata is to improve the quality of life in India through leadership in
targeted sectors of national economic significance to which the Group can bring a
unique set of capabilities.
Our past success in delivering such purpose provides the basis for our belief in the
future and our role in it. Our Group size and scale will provide management and
financial resources to profitably cater to the emerging opportunities and to develop
globally competitive skills to succeed in this endeavour.
Our long-term success requires us to considerably focus our portfolio, our
management efforts and our investment priorities so that Group synergy is brought
to bear at the point of delivering value to the customer. The enormous Group
resources : in people and finance needs to be re-architectured so that the whole is
larger than the sum of its individual parts.
Our heritage invokes trust among consumers, employees, shareholders and the
community. This is a precious heritage, unique in India, and will not only be
preserved, but also enriched by formalising the high standards of behaviour
45
expected from our employees and the companies in the years to come.
The Tata name is a unique asset representing Leadership with Trust. Leveraging
this asset to unify our companies is the route to long-term success and delivery of
returns to the shareholder in excess of the cost of capital.
At the Tata Group our purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities
we serve. We do this through leadership in sectors of national economic signifi
cance, to which the group brings a unique set of capabilities.
This requires us to grow aggressively in focused areas of business.Our heritage of
returning to society what we earn evokes trust amongconsumers, employees,
shareholders and the community. This heritage will be continuously enriched by
formalising the high standards of behaviour expected from employees and
companies.The Tata name is a unique asset representing leadership with trust
Leveraging this asset to enhance group synergy and becoming globally competitive
is the route to sustained growth and long-term success.
Tata Steel recognises that its people are the primary source of its competitiveness.
It is committed to equal employment opportunities for attracting the best available
talent and ensuring a cosmopolitan workforce.
It will pursue management practices designed to enrich the quality of life of its
employees, develop their potential and maximise their productivity.
It will aim at ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in all its dealing with its
employees.
Tata Steel will strive continuously to foster a climate of openness, mutual trust and
teamwork
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d) Create work conductive to superior performance , which enable employees
to realize their full potential through continuous learning and training
e) Identify and develop potential leaders for future growth.
f) High potential employee working in congenial work environment.
Tata Steel recognises that its people are the primary source of its competitiveness.
It is committed to equal employment opportunities for attracting the best available
talent and ensuring a cosmopolitan workforce.
It will pursue management practices designed to enrich the quality of life of its
employees, develop their potential and maximise their productivity.
It will aim at ensuring transparency, fairness and equity in all its dealing with its
employees.
Tata Steel will strive continuously to foster a climate of openness, mutual trust and
teamwork
Safety Policy
1. A Tata company shall strive to provide a safe, healthy, clean and ergonomic
working environment for its people. It shall prevent the wasteful use of
natural resources and be committed to improving the environment,
particularly with regard to the emission of greenhouse gases, and shall
endeavour to offset the effect of climate change in all spheres of its
activities.
2. A Tata company, in the process of production and sale of its products and
services, shall strive for economic, social and environmental sustainability.
o Comply with all applicable legislation, regulations and other
requirements.
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o Enhance employee's knowledge, skill and consequent involvement in
Environment, Safety, Health and Quality Management Programmes.
o Make systematic and progressive reduction of losses in operational
areas by deploying Total Productive Maintenance.
o Eliminate, reduce or control hazards/ risks arising out of our
operations and products.
o Preserve and develop environment by reduction in pollution in all its
forms and nurture the eco-system within and outside the organisation.
o Harmonise its economic progress with social and community
considerations.
o The Company will institutionalise Evaluation and Improvement
system in business practices to make rapid progress. This policy will
be made available to all the interested parties on demand.
Finance Policies
A Tata company shall prepare and maintain its accounts fairly and accurately and
in accordance with the accounting and financial reporting standards which
represent the generally accepted guidelines, principles, standards, laws and
regulations of the country in which the company conducts its business affairs.
Internal accounting and audit procedures shall reflect, fairly and accurately, all of
the
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company’s business transactions and disposition of assets, and shall have internal
controls to provide assurance to the company’s board and shareholders that the
transactions are accurate and legitimate. All required information shall be
accessible to company auditors and other authorised parties and government
agencies. There shall be no willful omissions of any company transactions from the
books and records, no advance-income recognition and no hidden bank account
and funds.
Market Policies
A Tata company shall fully support the development and operation of competitive
open markets and shall promote the liberalisation of trade and investment in each
country and market in which it operates. Specifically, no Tata company or
employee shall engage in restrictive trade practices, abuse of market dominance or
similar unfair trade activities.
A Tata company or employee shall market the company’s products and services on
their own merits and shall not make unfair and misleading statements about
competitors’ products and services. Any collection of competitive information
shall be made only in the normal course of business and shall be obtained only
through legally permitted sources and means.
Outlook
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Group chairman Ratan Tata speaker on a wide range of issue concerning the Tata
Group and its pace in a world changing dramatically than ever before what will be
the nature ad scope of Tata Group engagement in the coming years with a world
changing more rapidly than ever before. Here are numerous questions and who
better to address and opportunities before the group as it continuous reinforcing
and reinventing itself in India and in the world.
Over the next five to seven years the group has to start looking seriously and
strategically at creating brand awareness for ourselves in new business
commercially and strategically in this region’s the group also says that in
commodities the brand is not as important as it is in product.
The group chairman Ratan Tata says that we are not promoting our one brand but
we are getting serious of properties that have their one brand it can also happen
with a company like Titan if you are willing to spend huge amount of money
propagating the brand it will work.
Mumbai, July 9 Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today it kept its ‘BB’
corporate credit rating on Tata Motors on CreditWatch with negative implications,
pending finalisation of the long-term financing plans for funding the company’s
purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. At the same time, Standard &
Poor’s ratings on all Tata Motors’ rated debt remain on CreditWatch with negative
implications.
The rating on Tata Motors was lowered on April 4, 2008, to ‘BB’, from ‘BB+’,
after the announcement of the agreement with Ford Motor Co for the purchase of
Jaguar and Land Rover.
Tata Motors has paid about $2.3 billion in cash for Jaguar and Land Rover
(comprising brands, plants, and intellectual property rights).
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Ford has contributed $600 million to the Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) pension plans.
“To fund the initial transaction, Tata Motors raised short-term bridge facilities of
$3 billion, which it plans to repay through a mix of fresh equity infusion,
liquidation of investments, and long-term debt,” said Standard & Poor’s credit
analyst Mr Anshukant Taneja.
The company has obtained a board approval to raise up to $1.05 billion through a
rights issue of equity shares, up to $750 million of optionally convertible
preference shares, and $500 million-$600 million through a separate issuance of
securities in overseas markets.
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Corporate Governance
Clause:1
National interest
The Tata Group is committed to benefit the economic development of the countries
in which it operates. No Tata company shall undertake any project or activity to the
detriment of the wider interests of the communities in which it operates.
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A Tata company’s management practices and business conduct shall benefit the
country, localities and communities in which it operates, to the extent possible and
affordable, and shall be in accordance with the laws of the land.
A Tata company, in the course of its business activities, shall respect the culture,
customs and traditions of each country and region in which it operates. It shall
conform to trade procedures, including licensing, documentation and other
necessary formalities, as applicable.
Clause:2
Financial reporting and records
A Tata company shall prepare and maintain its accounts fairly and accurately and
in accordance with the accounting and financial reporting standards which
represent the generally accepted guidelines, principles, standards, laws and
regulations of the country in which the company conducts its business affairs.
Internal accounting and audit procedures shall reflect, fairly and accurately, all of
the company’s business transactions and disposition of assets, and shall have
internal controls to provide assurance to the company’s board and shareholders that
the transactions are accurate and legitimate. All required information shall be
accessible to company auditors and other authorised parties and government
agencies. There shall be no willful omissions of any company transactions from the
books and records, no advance-income recognition and no hidden bank account
and funds.
Clause:3
Competition
A Tata company shall fully support the development and operation of competitive
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open markets and shall promote the liberalisation of trade and investment in each
country and market in which it operates. Specifically, no Tata company or
employee shall engage in restrictive trade practices, abuse of market dominance or
similar unfair trade activities.
A Tata company or employee shall market the company’s products and services on
their own merits and shall not make unfair and misleading statements about
competitors’ products and services. Any collection of competitive information
shall be made only in the normal course of business and shall be obtained only
through legally permitted sources and means
Clause:4
Equal opportunities employer
A Tata company shall provide equal opportunities to all its employees and all
qualified applicants for employment without regard to their race, caste, religion,
colour, ancestry, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, ethnic
origin or disability.
Human resource policies shall promote diversity and equality in the workplace, as
well as compliance with all local labour laws, while encouraging the adoption of
international best practices.
Employees of a Tata company shall be treated with dignity and in accordance with
the Tata policy of maintaining a work environment free of all forms of harassment,
whether physical, verbal or psychological. Employee policies and practices shall
be administered in a manner consistent with applicable laws and other provisions
of this Code, respect for the right to privacy and the right to be heard, and that in
all matters equal opportunity is provided to those eligible and decisions are based
on merit.
Clause:5
Gifts and donations
A Tata company and its employees shall neither receive nor offer or make, directly
or indirectly, any illegal payments, remuneration, gifts, donations or comparable
benefits that are intended, or perceived, to obtain uncompetitive favours for the
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conduct of its business. The company shall cooperate with governmental
authorities in efforts to eliminate all forms of bribery, fraud and corruption.
However, a Tata company and its employees may, with full disclosure, accept and
offer nominal gifts, provided such gifts are customarily given and are of a
commemorative nature. Each company shall have a policy to clarify its rules and
regulations on gifts and entertainment, to be used for the guidance of its
employees.
Clause:6
Government agencies
A Tata company and its employees shall not, unless mandated under applicable
laws, offer or give any company funds or property as donation to any government
agency or its representative, directly or through intermediaries, in order to obtain
any favourable performance of official duties. A Tata company shall comply with
government procurement regulations and shall be transparent in all its dealings
with government agencies.
Clause:7
Political non-alignment
A Tata company shall be committed to and support the constitution and
governance systems of the country in which it operates.
A Tata company shall not support any specific political party or candidate for
political office. The company’s conduct shall preclude any activity that could be
interpreted as mutual dependence / favour with any political body or person, and
shall not offer or give any company funds or property as donations to any political
party, candidate or campaign.
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Clause:8
Health, safety and environment
A Tata company shall strive to provide a safe, healthy, clean and ergonomic
working environment for its people. It shall prevent the wasteful use of natural
resources and be committed to improving the environment, particularly with regard
to the emission of greenhouse gases, and shall endeavour to offset the effect of
climate change in all spheres of its activities.
A Tata company, in the process of production and sale of its products and services,
shall strive for economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Clause:9
Quality of products and services
A Tata company shall be committed to supply goods and services of world class
quality standards, backed by after-sales services consistent with the requirements
of its customers, while striving for their total satisfaction. The quality standards of
the company’s goods and services shall meet applicable national and international
standards.
A Tata company shall display adequate health and safety labels, caveats and other
necessary information on its product packaging.
Clause:10
Corporate citizenship
A Tata company shall be committed to good corporate citizenship, not only in the
compliance of all relevant laws and regulations but also by actively assisting in the
improvement of quality of life of the people in the communities in which it
operates. The company shall encourage volunteering by its employees and
collaboration with community groups.
Tata companies are also encouraged to develop systematic processes and conduct
management reviews, as stated in the Tata ‘corporate sustainability protocol’, from
time to time so as to set strategic direction for social development activity.
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The company shall not treat these activities as optional, but should strive to
incorporate them as an integral part of its business plan.
Clause:11
Cooperation of Tata companies
A Tata company shall cooperate with other Tata companies including applicable
joint ventures, by sharing knowledge and physical, human and management
resources, and by making efforts to resolve disputes amicably, as long as this does
not adversely affect its business interests and shareholder value.
In the procurement of products and services, a Tata company shall give preference
to other Tata companies, as long as they can provide these on competitive terms
relative to third parties.
Clause:12
Public representation of the company and the Group
The Tata Group honours the information requirements of the public and its
stakeholders. In all its public appearances, with respect to disclosing company and
business information to public constituencies such as the media, the financial
community, employees, shareholders, agents, franchisees, dealers, distributors and
importers, a Tata company or the Tata Group shall be represented only by
specifically authorised directors and employees. It shall be the sole responsibility
of these authorised representatives to disclose information about the company or
the Group.
Clause:13
Third party representation
Parties which have business dealings with the Tata Group but are not members of
the Group, such as consultants, agents, sales representatives, distributors, channel
partners, contractors and suppliers, shall not be authorised to represent a Tata
company without the written permission of the Tata company, and / or if their
business conduct and ethics are known to be inconsistent with the Code.
Third parties and their employees are expected to abide by the Code in their
interaction with, and on behalf of, a Tata company. Tata companies are encouraged
57
to sign a non-disclosure agreement with third parties to support confidentiality of
information.
Clause:14
Use of the Tata brand
The use of the Tata name and trademark shall be governed by manuals, codes and
agreements to be issued by Tata Sons. The use of the Tata brand is defined in and
regulated by the Tata Brand Equity and Business Promotion Agreement. No third
party or joint venture shall use the Tata brand to further its interests without
specific authorisation.
Clause:15
Group policies
A Tata company shall recommend to its board of directors the adoption of policies
and guidelines periodically formulated by Tata Sons.
Clause:16
Shareholders
A Tata company shall be committed to enhancing shareholder value and
complying with all regulations and laws that govern shareholder rights. The board
of directors of a Tata company shall duly and fairly inform its shareholders about
all relevant aspects of the company’s business, and disclose such information in
accordance with relevant regulations and agreements.
Clause:17
Ethical conduct
Every employee of a Tata company, including full-time directors and the chief
executive, shall exhibit culturally appropriate deportment in the countries they
operate in, and deal on behalf of the company with professionalism, honesty and
integrity, while conforming to high moral and ethical standards. Such conduct shall
be fair and transparent and be perceived to be so by third parties.
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Every employee of a Tata company shall preserve the human rights of every
individual and the community, and shall strive to honour commitments.
Clause:18
Regulatory compliance
Employees of a Tata company, in their business conduct, shall comply with all
applicable laws and regulations, in letter and spirit, in all the territories in which
they operate. If the ethical and professional standards of applicable laws and
regulations are below that of the Code, then the standards of the Code shall prevail.
Clause:19
Concurrent employment
Consistent with applicable laws, an employee of a Tata company shall not, without
the requisite, officially written approval of the company, accept employment or a
position of responsibility (such as a consultant or a director) with any other
company, nor provide freelance services to anyone, with or without remuneration.
In the case of a full-time director or the chief executive, such approval must be
obtained from the board of directors of the company.
Clause:20
Conflict of interest
An employee or director of a Tata company shall always act in the interest of the
company, and ensure that any business or personal association which he / she may
have does not involve a conflict of interest with the operations of the company and
his / her role therein.
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Independent directors of a Tata company shall comply with applicable laws and
regulations of all the relevant regulatory and other authorities. As good governance
practice they shall safeguard the confidentiality of all information received by them
by virtue of their position, but they need not be bound by all other conflicts that are
applicable to employees or executive directors, as indicated below.
Competent authority, in the case of all employees, shall be the chief executive,
who in turn shall report such exceptional cases to the board of directors on a
quarterly basis. In case of the chief executive and executive directors, the Group
Corporate Centre shall be the competent authority.
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b) An employee is in a position to derive an improper benefit, personally or to any
of his / her relatives, by making or influencing decisions relating to any
transaction.
The main areas of such actual or potential conflicts of interest shall include the
following:
Notwithstanding such or any other instance of conflict of interest that exist due to
historical reasons, adequate and full disclosure by interested employees shall be
made to the company’s management. It is also incumbent upon every employee to
make a full disclosure of any interest which the employee or the employee’s
immediate family, including parents, spouse and children, may have in a family
An employee of a Tata company shall not use or proliferate information that is not
available to the investing public, and which therefore constitutes insider
information, for making or giving advice on investment decisions about the
securities of the respective Tata company, Group, client or supplier on which such
insider information has been obtained.
An employee of a Tata company shall also respect and observe the confidentiality
of information pertaining to other companies, their patents, intellectual property
rights, trademarks and inventions; and strictly observe a practice of non-disclosure.
Clause:22
Protecting company assets
The assets of a Tata company shall not be misused; they shall be employed
primarily and judiciously for the purpose of conducting the business for which they
62
are duly authorised. These include tangible assets such as equipment and
machinery, systems, facilities, materials and resources, as well as intangible assets
such as information technology and systems, proprietary information, intellectual
property, and relationships with customers and suppliers.
Clause:23
Citizenship
The involvement of a Tata employee in civic or public affairs shall be with express
approval from the chief executive of his / her company, subject to this involvement
having no adverse impact on the business affairs of the company or the Tata
Group.
Clause:24
Integrity of data furnished
Every employee of a Tata company shall ensure, at all times, the integrity of data
or information furnished by him/her to the company. He/she shall be entirely
responsible in ensuring that the confidentiality of all data is retained and in no
circumstance transferred to any outside person/party in the course of normal
operations without express guidelines from or, the approval of the management.
Clause:25
Reporting concerns
Every employee of a Tata company shall promptly report to the management, and /
or third-party ethics helpline, when she / he becomes aware of any actual or
possible violation of the Code or an event of misconduct, act of misdemeanour or
act not in the company’s interest. Such reporting shall be made available to
suppliers and partners, too.
Any Tata employee can choose to make a protected disclosure under the
whistleblower policy of the company, providing for reporting to the chairperson of
the audit committee or the board of directors or specified authority. Such a
protected disclosure shall be forwarded, when there is reasonable evidence to
conclude that a violation is possible or has taken place, with a covering letter,
which shall bear the identity of the whistleblower.
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The company shall ensure protection to the whistleblower and any attempts to
intimidate him / her would be treated as a violation of the Code.
Articles on governance
Companies learned long back that having the complete cooperation and
participation of their employees meant improved efficiencies and, consequently,
superior products. Now they have begun understanding that a strong commitment
from investors and other stakeholders can lead to similar payoffs for the
organisation. Both are elements of a corporate governance template which
demands that broad-based systems of accountability be built into the spinal
structures of companies. Government regulations can be a guide, at best, in this
process. More important is a culture of self-policing.
Tata Steel has imbibed this culture better than most. Much before the business
world woke up to the importance of evolving a 'method' for corporate governance,
Tata Steel had already been practising its substance. It is no surprise, therefore, that
the ministry of finance, Government of India, awarded the company the national
award for excellence in corporate governance in 2000. Two years later Tata Steel
bagged the golden peacock award for excellence in corporate governance and
corporate social responsibility from the Institute of Directors, an apex association
of company directors.
Deputy managing director AN Singh defines the Tata Steel approach thus:
"Corporate governance is the ethical and responsible behaviour of a corporation
towards its owners, its shareholders, but it has a fallout effect on other constituents
too." Tata Steel has engaged all its stakeholders — a broad category that includes
employees, regulators, the communities in and around the areas where it operates,
and shareholders — at every stage of its evolution. The shareholders, though they
are the farthest away and the most fragmented, remain at the heart of the company.
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"We have to ensure a transparent and fair administration so that the money the
shareholders put in is safe and productive," says Mr Singh. To ensure this Tata
Steel has a three-pronged governance structure that provides for checks and
balances throughout its operation.
The first layer of this structure is the law of the land. Statutes on the number of
non-executive and independent directors, board procedure, and terms of office are
followed with rigour. Tata Steel's balance sheet is certified as fair and true by its
chief executive officer and its chief finance officer, and the company also submits
a report on various corporate governance parameters. It has mandated committees
for audit, remuneration for directors and investor grievances. Tata Steel's investor
grievance committee, which looks into complaints about transfer of shares, receipt
of balance sheet and dividends, meets twice or thrice a year and checks if all issues
have been resolved satisfactorily.
The second tier of Tata Steel's corporate governance edifice is based on the Tata
code of conduct, a comprehensive set of tenets that all Tata employees have to
adhere to. The code goes way beyond government-mandated regulations. For
example, the offices of non-executive chairman and managing director are
separated in Tata companies, even though the law does not require this. The Tata
code explicitly prohibits insider trading and sets out disclosure practices that help
shareholders take informed decisions. This ensures that the interests of
shareholders are put above all else and that people inside the company conduct
their personal securities transactions in an ethical manner.
Tata Steel has an ethics and compliance committee, as stipulated by the code, and
this comprises, among other things, labour welfare measures like the eight-hour
working day, leave with pay, provident fund, gratuity and profit sharing.
The rules implicit in Tata Steel's proactive workday ethos have been around for
many years. The company never meddles in the share market. It invites a social
audit every 10 years, in which an independent authority checks if it has functioned
responsibly and ethically with all its stakeholders. Tata Steel recently adopted the
Social Accountability (SA) 8000 standard, which promotes responsible behaviour
towards labour supplied by its contractors. It has also set up apex committees for
65
management, business excellence, safety, research and development, information
technology, etc.
To ensure that a culture of self-motivated ethics percolates to the rank and file,
Tata Steel lays plenty of emphasis on communication, the third layer of its
corporate governance structure. The office of the ethics counsellor executes this
vision. Says ethics counsellor Rekha Seal, "We manage with trust. We start with
the given that everyone is honest, but if we find that someone has flouted rules we
take decisive and immediate action. This is important because trust is the
foundation of our name and our brand."
TRUST
A tradition of trust
The Tata trusts are the unsung heroes of an extraordinary saga of philanthropy
that has enriched India and its citizens in myriad ways
You may wonder why the Tatas — among the country's biggest and most
illustrious industrial families for well over a century — never show up on any of
those ritual listings of India's richest people. The reason is as simple as it is
remarkable. Over generations, the Tatas have sustained a tradition of bequeathing
much of their personal wealth to the many trusts they have created for the greater
good of India and its people
That is how the Tata trusts have come to control 65.8 per cent of the shares of Tata
Sons, the holding company of the group. The wealth that accrues from this asset
supports an assortment of causes, institutions and individuals in a wide variety of
areas. The trusteeship principle governing the way the group functions casts the
Tatas in a rather unique light: capitalistic by definition but socialistic by character.
66
Support for higher studies
This was the sentiment that led Jamsetji Tata to establish the JN Tata Endowment
Scheme for higher education in 1892. The scheme helped bright Indian students of
moderate means become administrators, scientists, doctors, lawyers and engineers,
funding their education through loans and grants. The maiden grant was to Dr
Freney Cama, who became one of the first women gynaecologists in India and who
would come to have a maternity hospital in Mumbai named after her.
Of the 37 beneficiaries in the first batch, as many as 15 joined the Indian Civil
Service, the colonial version of the Indian Administrative Service, realising
Jamsetji Tata's objective that Indians should learn how to govern themselves. By
1924, over a third of Indian ICS officers were Tata scholars. Illustrious JN Tata
Endowment scholars include former president KR Narayanan, renowned scientists
Raja Ramanna, Jayant Narlikar and Raghunath Mashelkar, and Gyanpeeth award-
winning writer and actor Girish Karnad. The Endowment has thus far supported
more than 3,500 scholars.
Their father’s sons Jamsetji Tata's idea of philanthropy was to be given true
expression by his sons, Sir Dorab Tata and Sir Ratan Tata, both of whom donated
the major chunk of their personal wealth for the public good. Sir Dorab was the
quintessential entrepreneur, working tirelessly to make his father's visionary ideas
a reality — roaming the jungles of what is now Jharkhand in eastern India in a
bullock cart to set up Tata Steel and pioneering the generation of hydroelectric
power in the wilds of the Western Ghats — while Sir Ratan was a connoisseur of
the arts and a passionate votary of social development.
A funding agency
How do the trusts operate? Says Shernaz Vasunia, programme officer of the Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust: "Over 75 per cent of our trust's funds come from dividends on
the shares it owns in Tata Sons, the Group's holding company. The remaining
comes from their own statutory investments." Adds Sarosh N. Batliwala, who
heads the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust: "Our trusts don't handle corporate social
67
responsibility; they are more of a funding agency, like the Ford Foundation."
The Sir Dorabji Tata supports different kinds of NGOs — some do social work,
some research, while others are community based — usually for a period of three
to five years. It also works with international agencies such as the United Nations,
mostly in times of natural disasters. From time to time the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
also initiates the process for establishing institutes of national importance.
JN Tata Endowment
The JN Tata Endowment was set up in 1892 by the founder of the Tata Group,
Jamsetji Tata, to encourage young people to take up higher studies at some of the
best universities in the world. It is the first Tata benefaction in the field of
education, and possibly the first of its kind in Asia.
The endowment awards only loan scholarships. However, the selected scholars
may also qualify for a gift award. The amount to be awarded to each scholar by
way of loan and gift scholarship is determined on the basis of norms laid down for
the purpose, and does not cover the full cost of studies. Scholarships are granted
for higher studies in all disciplines and subjects
Eligibility criteria
Selection process
The Sir Ratan Tata Trust is one of India's oldest grant-bestowing foundations. It
was established in 1918 following the death of Sir Ratan Tata, the younger son of
Group founder Jamsetji Tata, and it operates in accordance with his will. Sir Ratan
wanted to establish a trust that would help further "the advancement of education,
learning and industry in all its branches.
Institutional grants
The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust was established in 1932 by Sir Dorab Tata, the elder
son of Group founder Jamsetji Tata, and is one of the oldest philanthropic
organisations in India. The Trust's vision of constructive philanthropy has been
69
sensitive to the fast-growing needs of a developing nation, and the projects and
programmes it supports bear contemporary relevance
Endowment grants
The Trust has promoted, and continued to support, several institutions of learning,
research and culture in India. These include the Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Mumbai, the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer Research and Treatment, Mumbai,
the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, the Tata Agricultural and
Rural Training Centre for the Blind, Phansa, and the National Centre for the
Performing Arts, Mumbai.
NGO grants
The Trust makes grants to NGOs in five social development sectors:
Individual grants
The Trust gives merit and need-based educational and medical grants to
individuals.
70
• Medical: Financial help is extended to individuals for the treatment of
diseases and to solve other health problems.
• Education: The Trust offers scholarships for higher education and travel
grants for studying abroad and for attending conferences, as well as for
sports activities.
JN Tata Endowment: The first of the Tata trusts, it was established by Group
founder Jamsetji Tata, in 1892 to provide scholarship loans to individuals for the
pursuit of higher studies abroad. Over 120 students are selected every year from
across India as JN Tata scholars.
INSTITUTE
IISc has produced Nobel laureates, trained many of India's greatest scientists and
helped nurture some of the country's finest scientific institutions. Housed in a 375-
71
acre campus in Bangalore, this trailblazing institution has 40 departments and
centres pursuing R&D and teaching in all departments of science, engineering and
technology.
JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre: The flag bearer of the ecotechnology movement
in India, JRDTEC is part of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.
Established in 1996, it is devoted to seeding and encouraging sustainable
development, one that protects the environment while also benefiting the people
who depend on it.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences: Set up in 1936, TISS is a pioneer in the field of
social-work education in the Asia-Pacific region. The Institute, which offers
postgraduate and doctoral programmes, has made significant contributions in the
domains of social policy and planning, intervention strategies and human resource
development.
Tata Memorial Centre: TMC is India's best-known cancer hospital and research
centre. This global centre of excellence, where 70 per cent of patients get free
primary care, was established in Bombay in 1941, a time when there were only a
handful of such institutions in the world. It has added significantly to its capacity
and capabilities since then.
The flag bearer of the ecotechnology movement in India is the JRD Tata
Ecotechnology Centre, which is part of the MS Swaminathan Research
Foundation, Chennai. Established in 1996, the Centre was born of renowned
agricultural scientist Mr Swaminathan's conviction that an optimum blending of
traditional wisdom and scientific endeavour that nurtures and protects the
environment is the bedrock of truly sustainable development.
Dr Swaminathan, winner of the 'world food prize' back in 1987,set aside the money
he received from the award for the Centre. A greater monetary contribution came
from the Sir Dorabji Tata and Allied Trusts, which initially bestowed Rs1.85 crore
to the Centre. Formally inaugurated in July 1998, the institution has received more
than Rs4.5 crore from the Tata trusts thus far. This is the kind of backing that has
enabled it to play a role in transforming the lives of the rural poor in Tamil Nadu
and elsewhere.
The JRD Centre's holistic vision for rural development stretches way beyond
farming. That means literacy programmes that use computers and touch-screen
technology, interaction and advocacy with the government, educating the poor
about the schemes the state administration has for them, and helping establish
village knowledge centres, where the poor can source information on agriculture,
health, animal husbandry, horticulture, government programmes and subsidies, etc.
73
director of the JRD Centre. "Time and labour are the only assets the poor have. Our
endeavour is to provide them with skills that can be linked to these assets."
There's no fixed bouquet of projects and no set sequence of initiatives that the JRD
Centre carries to every new place it gets involved with. So it could be micro-credit
organisations in one village, self-help groups in another and literacy projects or
sustainable farming in a third. But there are three essentials to the JRD Centre's
approach: creating grassroots institutions that can respond to any problem; building
capabilities, so that people can understand where solutions are available; and
helping start micro-credit associations and micro enterprises that deliver livelihood
opportunities.
There are six phases in the JRD Centre's matrix of sustainable development:
mobilisation, organisation, technology transfer, systems management, capacity
building and withdrawal. The last of these is critical. The Centre's objective is to
make itself redundant, so to speak, over a period of time to the people who benefit
from its expertise. This is a consistent theme with the Centre, and it's a huge bonus
for the organisation and, more importantly, the villages it works with.
"The famine of work causes the famine of food," says Mr Swaminathan, the
patriarch whose vision shaped the centre. "Today's world is in need of a message
of hope. What we need is an ecology of hope: not a 'doom ecology', but a 'do
ecology'. This is where the new movement for eco-enterprises and ecotechnology
has become a very powerful instrument."
74
institute for social work took root. In 1936, the Dorabji Tata Graduate School of
Social Work was established for professional training in social work, in the
premises of the Nagpada Neighbourhood House. Dr Manshardt was its first
director. Though it was a diploma course, in the first year itself there were 400
applicants for 20 seats on offer. In 1944, it was renamed the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS).
Between 1936 and 1948, the School successfully worked to influence national laws
and policies. "We pioneered programmes which were later enacted into laws by the
Indian government, says TISS's present director, RR Singh, about the history of the
Institute. "Our labour welfare and industrial management course was formulated
because we believed labour problems needed attention. In 1948, the Labour Act
was introduced. The concept of labour welfare in India directly evolved from the
work of the Dorabji Tata Graduate School. It helped that these concepts were
already part of the Tata culture."
The present campus of the Institute, at Deonar in Mumbai, was opened on October
6, 1954, by the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The year 1964 is an
important landmark in the history of the Institute — it was recognised as a deemed
university by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Since then the Institute
has expanded continuously, both in educational programmes and infrastructure. It
has responded to the changing needs of the social and educational system in the
country and has gone far beyond its initial concern of social work education. What
started as a small institution offering post-graduate diplomas in social work has
grown into a university with diversified activities.
75
information for the benefit of society. It is also one of the few institutions in the
country which undertakes field projects to demonstrate the workings of organised
and systematic welfare measures. "We have never believed in pure classroom
instruction," says Dr Singh. "Apart from teaching and training, the faculty
participates in field-action projects. Over time we have formed units for research
into child welfare and the sociology of education and urbanisation, among other
subjects. The social justice budget and report was prepared with our help. This is a
first for the state of Maharashtra and a great challenge for us."
On the cards are centres for developmental studies, disaster management, domestic
violence and human rights. At the moment, small projects are under way in these
76
areas. The Institute is also facilitating the setting up of similar units in other parts
of the country. It is holding workshops and running programmes to share
knowledge with other universities.
Fact file
77
institute for social work took root. In 1936, the Dorabji Tata Graduate School of
Social Work was established for professional training in social work, in the
premises of the Nagpada Neighbourhood House. Dr Manshardt was its first
director. Though it was a diploma course, in the first year itself there were 400
applicants for 20 seats on offer. In 1944, it was renamed the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS).
Between 1936 and 1948, the School successfully worked to influence national laws
and policies. "We pioneered programmes which were later enacted into laws by the
Indian government, says TISS's present director, RR Singh, about the history of the
Institute. "Our labour welfare and industrial management course was formulated
because we believed labour problems needed attention. In 1948, the Labour Act
was introduced. The concept of labour welfare in India directly evolved from the
work of the Dorabji Tata Graduate School. It helped that these concepts were
already part of the Tata culture."
The present campus of the Institute, at Deonar in Mumbai, was opened on October
6, 1954, by the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The year 1964 is an
important landmark in the history of the Institute — it was recognised as a deemed
university by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Since then the Institute
has expanded continuously, both in educational programmes and infrastructure. It
has responded to the changing needs of the social and educational system in the
country and has gone far beyond its initial concern of social work education. What
started as a small institution offering post-graduate diplomas in social work has
grown into a university with diversified activities.
78
problems and social sciences, as well as publishes and disseminates this
information for the benefit of society. It is also one of the few institutions in the
country which undertakes field projects to demonstrate the workings of organised
and systematic welfare measures. "We have never believed in pure classroom
instruction," says Dr Singh. "Apart from teaching and training, the faculty
participates in field-action projects. Over time we have formed units for research
into child welfare and the sociology of education and urbanisation, among other
subjects. The social justice budget and report was prepared with our help. This is a
first for the state of Maharashtra and a great challenge for us."
On the cards are centres for developmental studies, disaster management, domestic
violence and human rights. At the moment, small projects are under way in these
areas. The Institute is also facilitating the setting up of similar units in other parts
79
of the country. It is holding workshops and running programmes to share
knowledge with other universities.
Fact file
If you think this is bad news, there's worse to come. By 2020, the number of
patients globally will shoot up to 20 million, and 72 per cent of them will be from
the third world.
Is India geared for this future? “Not at all,” says Dr Ketayun Dinshaw, director,
Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), adding, "we need a Tata Memorial Hospital in
every state." She says it was extraordinary vision which made the Tatas set up a
speciality cancer centre at a time when there were only a handful of them in the
world. Today, TMC treats about one-third of the cancer patients in the country.
After Lady Meherbai Tata died of leukaemia in 1932, her husband, Sir Dorabji
Tata, wanted to bring to India a facility similar to the ones where his wife was
treated abroad. After Dorabji's death, Nowroji Saklatwala, the next chairman of the
Tata Group, pursued this dream. But it was the support of JRD Tata that finally
saw the Tata Memorial Hospital, a seven-storey structure, opening in Parel,
Bombay, on February 28, 1941.
In 1957, the Ministry of Health temporarily took over the Tata Memorial Hospital.
But JRD Tata and Homi Bhabha — the pioneer of India's nuclear energy
programme — had the vision to foresee the role that radiation would play in cancer
treatment, from imaging to staging and actual therapy. Administrative control of
the hospital was then transferred to the Department of Atomic Energy in 1962.
After four years, the Cancer Research Institute — set up in 1952 — and TMC were
merged.
Starting as an 80-bed hospital covering an area of 15,000 sq metres, TMC now has
more than 440 beds spread over almost 54,000 square metres. The annual budget,
Rs500,000 in 1941, is now close to Rs280 million.
81
TMC is a comprehensive centre for the prevention and treatment of cancer, and for
research. It is a landmark on the global health map and particularly important to
this part of the world. Nearly 25,000 patients visit the clinics each year, not only
from all over India but from neighbouring countries as well. About 70 per cent of
patients seeking primary care are treated free of charge. Over the years, TMC has
also realised the importance of preventive activities and is reaching out to create
awareness even in rural areas.
The Centre lays a lot of emphasis on education in the field of cancer. Over 150
students, medical professionals, scientists and technicians undergo training at the
hospital. The Department of Atomic Energy has established a new state-of-the-art
research and development centre at Khargar in Navi Mumbai (called the Advanced
Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer) to focus on research into
cancers relevant to India and South Asia.
"TMC as well as the Department of Atomic Energy — through its links with the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Dr Bhabha — inherit their work
culture from the Tatas," says Dr Dinshaw. She recalls how committed JRD was to
the institution. "In fact, it was because of his involvement and concern that the
hospital was handed over from the Ministry of Health to the Department of Atomic
Energy."
82
Homi Bhabha Road
Mr Bhabha — in the letter he wrote to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust requesting
financial assistance to get the TIFR idea off the ground — talked about "creating a
school of physics comparable to the best anywhere in the world." JRD, on the other
hand, stressed the "progress" aspect while arguing the case for the institution.
These visionaries, working together at a critical time in the nation's history,
considered science an integral component to modern India's identity.
TIFR became the cradle of the country's atomic energy endeavour. The Institute
wasn't just about science; it was also about discovering and delivering the benefits
drawn from science to Indian society. Given that there was little scientific and
industrial infrastructure at the time, TIFR came to play a crucial role.
The building of TIFR was quite interesting. Everything was done in-house,
including the carpentry and such. We were at the frontiers of science, which meant
that we had to create our own infrastructure. The fundamental research we were
involved in then was of the atypical kind. Our early years were marked by this
wide vision we had of what research needed to be done. What usually happens
when you have so a broad vision is that you compromise on either quality or
excellence. But TIFR managed to keep the course it had charted by making
excellence intrinsic to its existence. This, to me, is one of the Institute's most
remarkable triumphs.
83
We have done a large amount of experimental research that has blossomed into
trend-setting initiatives. For instance, India's first digital computer was crafted at
TIFR, back in 1957. This was a significant success by any yardstick. Today, you
hear of technology that's spun off. In my reckoning, TIFR, more than any other
Indian institution or industry, has spawned a variety of vital organisations.
In science you cannot stop once you have crossed the indigenous hurdle; you also
have to get to a given point before everybody else. Frontier science is about being
the discoverer. If someone has discovered something, you cannot go to your lab
and rediscover it.
Today, India has turned the corner. It is a more confident country and its
infrastructure has improved tremendously. Catching up is no longer an
achievement; we have to be up there with the best. Therefore, that part of TIFR's
original charter — being at the frontiers of science — remains relevant, but being
self-reliant and developing infrastructure is secondary. In that sense the continuity
of the vision articulated by Mr Bhabha and JRD has been preserved.
TIFR now functions differently, and so it must. If it does not it will be frozen in an
earlier time, which means it would fail in its mission. Some of our activities have
changed down the years and this process will continue as we chart a new course
that will, in its details, be somewhat different from the past, but still stay faithful to
the original idea.
84
We are now trying to set a standard by saying that we are not going to applaud if
our people repeat something that somebody else has done. We will only applaud if
you are the first one to discover something. Earlier, to be able to produce
something was an accomplishment of a kind. That is no longer true. But we had to
go through that period to get where we currently are. An excellent institution must
be able to rediscover and reinvent itself frequently. And that is one of the strengths
of TIFR.
The Institute had many successes in the early years of its existence and that, in a
way, was a problem. An institution is much more alert if it is in trouble. When an
institution is doing well constantly, the high level of confidence generated can
sometimes lead to complacency. For TIFR, a successful organisation by any
measure, the question now is how to take an outstanding institution and make it
truly exceptional. It's a more complicated struggle, requiring a new point of view
and a course of action that's consistent with the times we live in.
We want to make sure we get the best people. This is a huge challenge because,
financially speaking, we cannot provide the kind of salaries that some of our
competitors around the world do. But we try to even the playing field as much as
possible so that we can compete with the best. Apart from salaries, we provide a
work environment that's as good as any other, and in some ways better.
Without funding you cannot do research. We have a steady source of funds, but
there is a flip side to this equation. Steadfast support can make you complacent, so
we have to ensure that support is earned, and not secured just as an entitlement. We
receive tremendous backing from the Department of Atomic Energy, which takes
an enlightened view of the long-haul factor. We have a beautiful campus and
excellent infrastructure, with the finest machines and the latest technology
equipment. Our libraries are among the best anywhere and we have good housing
facilities.
85
Youth is the future, always has been and always will be. Given that reality, we
have to understand, hard as it is, that the basic sciences are not an attractive career
for today's youngsters. And youth are our lifeblood. If bright young people don't do
science, where will our next generation of scientists come from? This is where we
now have to concentrate our energies.
Earlier, we did not get involved in the education bit; we did not feel the need to.
Our education system is not in good shape, particularly in the basic sciences, and
— this is my personal opinion — leading institutions such as TIFR have been short
sighted in not engaging with this system. It is a crisis that we have brought upon
ourselves. University systems are in distress and we need to be involved there.
Under the TIFR umbrella, the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education is
putting in place the nurture programme for engineering students. We also want to
capture students who go abroad for their MSc or PhD and take them into our own
programmes. We have now become a deemed university and can give them the
degrees they seek. To get young people and give them a quality education — that's
the top item on my agenda.
TIFR has had a good run of more than 50 years, but the times are changing, the
economy and society are changing. We have to adapt to this new era and we can do
that by incubating our own original ideas. We may have grown a little too big, but
in the frontier sciences largeness does not bring quality. We need to ensure that our
86
centres have significant autonomy to forge their own destinies. The governing
structure set up by the founders, with representatives from the Government of
India, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Government of Maharashtra, is ideal. No
one group dominates, which means the Institute can retain its autonomy.
Today everybody talks about being global, but TIFR has been global in its outlook
since its birth. We have had some significant accomplishments. The GMRT
telescope is one of its kind and the best in the world for what it does. Our scientists
discovered a new class of superconductors. Many of our students have gone abroad
to teach. We've had many distinguished visitors, among them Nobel laureates John
Nash and Stephen Hawking. In a sense, we are the bridge between our community
and the world.
Fact file
• June 1, 1945: TIFR begins life at the Cosmic Ray Research Unit in
Bangalore. Six months later the facilities moved to Bombay (Kenilworth on Peddar
Road).
• Initial research was carried out in the areas of cosmic rays, high-energy
physics, theoretical physics and mathematics. Later, the Institute expanded its
research umbrella to embrace nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, computer
science, geophysics, molecular biology, radio astronomy and science education.
87
• TIFR's pioneering work led to it designing India's first digital computer
(TIFRAC).
• The Institute also runs four facilities: the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope
at Kodad near Pune; the High-Energy Cosmic Ray Laboratory at
Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nadu; the High-Energy Cosmic and Gamma Ray
Laboratories at Pachamarhi in Madhya Pradesh; and the National Balloon Facility
in Hyderabad.
The Tata Medical Centre (TMC) is a comprehensive cancer hospital and research
establishment coming up in Kolkata, India. To be commissioned in 2009, the
centre is a philanthropic initiative from the Tata Group for the people of West
Bengal and north-eastern states of India. The teams will work with state-of-the-art
equipment from the best of manufacturers worldwide.
88
Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai registers nearly a quarter of its cases from the
east / north-east regions of India and Bangladesh. Designed by Cannon Design, a
renowned architectural firm from North America, the hospital is located at
Rajarhat, Kolkata on 13.36 acres of land procured from the West Bengal
government and has easy accessibility from the city centre as well as the city
airport.
TMC will work with the best professionals and equipment to ensure that its
diagnostic and treatment services are comparable with the best in the world.
It will set up disease management teams with experts from different streams like
surgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, pathology, radiology, psychiatry,
medical social work, etc. This will ensure a multi disciplinary approach towards
treatment protocols, medical strategies and guidelines that will reflect a holistic
view of the problem and its manifestation.
TMC will collaborate with the best institutes in the world and nurture talent from
local universities.
It will have a slew of research initiatives, including basic science research, clinical
research, intramural research and multi-centric trials. It will also provide education
in the field of medicine and allied subjects, with a special focus on oncology.
89
The centre will have academic offices, lecture and seminar rooms, a digital library,
and access to electronic journals and a networking of libraries.
Service delivery
TMC's objective is to always provide the best possible services in every area of
intervention.
Outpatient services
Diagnostic services
These will include laboratory and imaging services. Samples collected will be
transported from collection centres in the hospital to laboratories through a
pneumatic chute system. The samples will be processed and the results made
available on the hospital information system. Among the imaging services
provided will be conventional radiography, fluoroscopy, mammography,
ultrasonography and different scans. Images will be captured in digital format and
with the help of an ‘enterprise picture archival and communication system’.
Therapeutic services
Inpatient services
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The inpatient services will be located in a separate building. The amenities
provided will be consistent with the intensity of care and will comprise, among
others, a central nursing station and patient rooms and wards. There will also be a
high-dependency unit, a bone marrow transplant ward and isolation rooms.
Rehabilitation services
In addition, the centre will work closely with a network of support organisations
and sister institutions to provide complete cancer treatment facilities. The benefits
that will accrue as a result of this alliance are:
Telemedicine facilities
The TMC facility will conduct a telemedicine programme with the Tata Memorial
Centre, Mumbai, and a network of other institutions. The main objective here is to
exchange expertise in patient care and provide opportunities for experts to share
their skills and knowledge. Other benefits would include online training
programmes and distance education.
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Human Resource
Support services
The centre will set up cancer support teams such as medical social work team and
the psychiatrists and clinical psychologists group, in collaboration with NGOs and
voluntary organisations. Activities include:
• Patient support
• Financial Aid
• Counselling
• Patient navigation
• Helpline
92
SPORT
Sir Dorab Tata was a great sportsman. He was a Cambridge blue at cricket and a
founding member of the Willingdon Club in Mumbai. He sponsored the Indian
contingent for the Antwerp Olympics in 1920 and, as president of the Indian
Olympic Council, financed the Indian squad that went to the Paris Olympics in
1924. Sports has always been an integral part of the Tata way of life. We believe in
improving the quality of life, and sports is a vital part of life
The Club was Mumbai-centric because most Tata companies had their
headquarters here, and JRD — its president for over 50 years — was based here.
Jamshedpur had Tata Steel, but Tata Steel players would represent the Club. Tata
Steel was and is, in its own rights, a nursery for sports. Whether it be with
Bachendri Pal climbing Mount Everest or Premchand Dogra being crowned Mr
Universe, Tata Steel has always been a great supporter of sports.
93
Beyond cricket
The Tata Group has considered every sport as worthy of support; so long as people
excelled in a particular field, we supported their talent. Two world billiards
champions, Geet Sethi and Michael Ferriera, were Tata employees. If someone is
at that level, or has the potential to reach that level, I don't think the Tatas would be
concerned about which sport he or she represents.
Mumbai was once the cradle of Indian cricket. There was a time when 80 per cent
of the Test players in the Mumbai team were from the Tatas. I believe it’s possible
to bring that era back and break the mindset that sports people are not productive
from the business point of view.
Serving up an ace
Once every 12 months, in a week that straddles two years, an international tennis
caravan rolls into Chennai with top-ticket performers to deliver sporting
entertainment of the highest quality. A world-class organisational set-up, the
country’s finest tennis arena, passionate and knowledgeable fans, and the generous
support of the Tata Group have made the Open India’s premier sporting event.
This year’s championship, which unfolded at the bull-pit cauldron that is the
Nungambakkam Stadium on December 28, 2002, and climaxed on January 5,
2003, had more than its share of potent elements: drama on the court, a multitude
of events off it, and a ‘Thaigar’ who thrilled fans and tamed opponents with style
and panache.
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The Tata roll call of champions
Some of the prominent sportsmen and women associated with Tata Group
companies and the Tata Sports Club who have won a multitude of honours,
both on the playing fields and beyond
Sportsmen and women associated with Tata Group companies and the Tata Sports
Club have won a multitude of honours, both on the playing fields and beyond.
Among them are world champions, winners at the Olympics, the Asian and
Commonwealth Games, and others. Here are the most prominent of them.
Athletics
BRH Prasad
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Archery
Basketball
T Vijayraghavan S Qureshi
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Approach towards the Environment, Pollution and Ecology
Environment
Nurturing nature
The Tata Group's kinship with the environmental cause has resulted
in a slew of initiatives that place the good earth above bottom lines
A big chunk of the responsibility for containing the plague driving our polluted and
populous planet towards peril rests with industry and business. Balancing the
imperatives of creating jobs and selling products and services with the absolute
necessity of protecting and regenerating what remains of the natural environment is
an onerous challenge. That it can be done is beyond doubt, but this is a task
requiring a commitment to ideals more than bottom lines, to the good earth rather
than profiteering. The long history of the Tata Group teems with examples of just
such a commitment.
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The Tata ethos places a special emphasis on environmental and ecological issues.
"Environment is a focus area within our overall corporate social responsibility
matrix," says Kishor Chaukar, chairman, Tata Council for Community Initiatives, a
centrally administered nodal agency that coordinates, among other activities, the
environmental efforts of group companies. A host of Tata companies also adhere to
environmental procedures drawn up by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI),
which operates under the aegis of the United Nations.
Important as it is, following directives and guidelines from within and without is
just one facet of the Tata approach to environmental issues. The greater portion of
what the Group does in this sphere is by choice and conviction. From this flows its
support for endeavours to conserve plant and animal species, improve land and
water use, and protect forest tracts and green sanctuaries. The central tenet of this
earthy philosophy is people and communities, often in rural regions and frequently
facing inequitable struggles to secure livelihoods. Understanding that no
environment policy can operate in isolation means an enhanced ability to link
processes and people in a manner that benefits both nature and those dependent on
it. The Group's contribution to conservation falls into two categories: the efforts of
different Tata companies, big and small, to preserve and enrich the environment in
and around their areas of operation, and the philanthropic thrust of the Tata trusts,
which support a diverse cluster of non-governmental organisations working in
areas such as the management of natural resources, community development and
livelihoods. This dual canopy accommodates and nurtures a variety of initiatives in
a range that extends from watershed programmes and land regeneration to forestry
projects and the protection of endangered species.
The flora and fauna stories and articles in this subsection attempt to encapsulate the
Tata Group's allegiance to the environmental cause. "Ours is a deliberate effort to
do more than what is required by statute," says Mr Chaukar. "Our real contribution,
on the environment front and on the entire corporate responsibility issue, is being
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socially responsible, and that means doing much more than staying on the right
side of the law."
Only those living in denial can argue that environment and ecology are subjects too
esoteric for a society bred on consumerism and the pleasures of the present.
Humankind is currently engaged in the surprisingly easy job of driving into
extinction more plant and animal species than at any time since the dinosaurs
disappeared 65 million years ago. Our forests are fading; our oceans are rising; the
snowcaps on our mountain peaks are shrinking; our climate is mutating.
Meanwhile, our water, our air and our bodies are becoming the unwitting
recipients of all manners of toxic intruders. Business can — and do, as the Tatas
have proved — make a huge difference in turning this beastly tide.
Environment policies
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The Tata Group has striven to be responsible and sensitive on ecological and
environmental matters. It does this by protecting, conserving and restoring natural
resources, often beyond what is mandated by government and other institutional
policies.
Tata companies are committed to complying in full measure with all regulations
relating to the preservation of the environment around its operations. By constantly
upgrading the technologies they use and by applying the best of sustainable
processes and practices, they endeavour to give environmental issues the priority
they deserve.
Towards this end, the Group continuously trains its employees and creates
awareness among its business associates, customers, stakeholders and the
community at large through a process of participatory dialogue and collaboration
The Tatas have what is known as a 'Group environment network' to guide its
companies and organisations on environmental issues. The objectives of this
network are three-fold:
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The Tata approach to environmental management makes it mandatory for Group
companies to do the following:
• Have a vision and mission statement that explicitly states its policy on
environmental management.
• Define a corporate environment policy and communicate that to all
employees.
• Set up environmental management systems and programmes at the
organisational level and annually budget for environmental improvement.
• Train its workforce on environmental issues and assign management
representatives and facilitators to the task of monitoring environmental
systems.
• Regularly scrutinise resource consumption and the quality of air, water and
land in and around the areas where it operates.
• Set quantitative objectives and targets for continuous improvement
(preferably beyond legal compliance).
• Review environmental performance at different levels in the management
hierarchy.
• Establish a convention for conducting impact-assessment surveys and
periodic audits.
• Publish annual environmental performance in annual reports.
• Encourage applications and attainment of eco-labels and accreditations such
as ISO 14000/01.
• This is to be followed by lifecycle assessments and eco-labelling for product
stewardship throughout the supply chain.
The environment policies of the Tata Group are reviewed continually. Changes or
improvements are made as and when these are required (the way the Group is
addressing the climate change issue is an example
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Awards
• CII EXIM Bank Award 2005 – "Certificate for Strong Commitment to
Excel".
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• “Energy Efficient Unit Award” at the National Award for Excellence in
in 2004.
Bronze Award to the Trombay Thermal Power Station for the year 1988 –
1989.
Community initiatives
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The many companies of the Tata Group are involved in a wide variety
of community development projects and programmes, principally in
India but also, increasingly, in different parts of the world (these
initiatives are distinct, and separated, from the social uplift efforts of
the Tata trusts). The community development endeavours of Tata
companies cover many areas, from health and education to
livelihoods, women-children welfare and more
Tata Council for Community Initiatives: The Tata Council for Community
Initiatives is the umbrella agency that guides and supports Tata Group companies
with their community development initiatives. Reinforcing the implicit beliefs the
Group brings to its mission of sustainable development with an explicit set of
structures, TCCI has a charter that embraces social development, environmental
management, biodiversity restoration and employee volunteering.
Tata index for sustainability: The Tata index for sustainable human
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organisations to implement and manage the community development projects that
they undertake. The most prominent of these are the Tata Chemicals Society for
Rural Development, the Tata Steel Rural Development Society, Rallilove ACTS
(Assisting Communities Through Service) and Voltas for Women.
The time was the early 1990s and the occasion was gathering of industrialists
called by India’s prime minister, PV Narasimha Rao. Representing the Tata Group
were Chairman Ratan Tata and JJ Irani, the managing director of Tata Steel at that
point. “The prime minister proposed that we business people set aside 1 per cent of
our net profit for community development projects totally unconnected to the
workers and industry any of us was involved with,” recalls Mr Irani. “Mr Tata and
I looked t each other; we didn't make any comment. Later, we drew up a chart that
quantified Tata Steel’s contribution on Mr Rao’s scale. We discovered that, over a
10-year period, the company had been dedicating between 3 and 20 per cent of its
profits to social development causes. In the years since, depending on profit
margins, the figure has continued to vacillate within this band.”
The Tata Steel example is not an anomaly for a Tata company. If there is one
attribute common to every Tata enterprise, it has to be the time, effort and
resources each of them devotes to the wide spectrum of initiatives that come under
the canopy of community development. The money numbers are staggering: by a
rough estimate the Tata Group as a whole, through its trusts and its companies,
spends about 30 per cent of its profits after tax (PAT) on social-uplift programmes.
The Tata Steel example is not an anomaly for a Tata company. If there is one
attribute common to every Tata enterprise, it has to be the time, effort and
resources each of them devotes to the wide spectrum of initiatives that come under
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the canopy of community development. The money numbers are staggering: by a
rough estimate the Tata Group as a whole, through its trusts and its companies,
spends about 30 per cent of its profits after tax (PAT) on social-uplift programmes.
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The Tata index for sustainable human development is a pioneering effort aimed at
directing, measuring and enhancing the community work that Tata Group
enterprises undertake. The index provides guidelines for Tata companies looking to
fulfil their social responsibilities, and is built around the Tata Business Excellence
Model, an open-ended framework that drives business excellence in Tata
companies.
Speaking about the Tata index, Anant G Nadkarni, VP, Group corporate
sustainabiity, says: "We have adopted a business model to drive social
responsibility efforts within the group because that way you ensure a huge
network. The index helps structure our efforts and quantify their effect on the
communities and people they are aimed at."
The index is actually a set of guidelines for Tata companies looking to fulfil their
social responsibilities, and it is the third set of such guidelines fashioned by TCCI.
Mr Nadkarni sees the index as a work in progress, not some edict set in stone.
"What we have here is a framework; that's the spirit in which the Index was
drafted."
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Companies
Tata Steel is the world's sixth largest steel manufacturer. It operates in more than
20 countries and has a commercial presence in over 50.
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The company was established in Jamshedpur, India, in 1907. In the past few years,
Tata Steel has invested in Corus (UK), Millennium Steel (renamed Tata Steel
Thailand) and NatSteel Asia (Singapore). With these, the company has created a
manufacturing and marketing network in Europe, South East Asia and the Pacific-
rim countries. It has the capacity to produce over 26 million tonnes of crude steel
every year.
Areas of business
The company produces crude steel and basic steel products, and makes steel for
building and construction applications through Tata BlueScope Steel, its joint
venture with Australia's BlueScope Steel.
Tata Steel has also set up joint ventures for the development of limestone mines in
Thailand, the procurement of low-ash coal from Australia and coking coal from
Mozambique, and the setting up of a deep-sea port in Orissa in India. The company
is exploring opportunities in the titanium dioxide business in Tamil Nadu, India,
and will soon be producing high carbon ferrochrome from its plant in South Africa.
• Corus Group: Europe’s second largest steel maker with major operations in
the UK and continental Europe, Corus produces long and strip products for
the construction, automotive, packaging, engineering and other markets
worldwide. NatSteel Asia: A leading supplier of premium steel products for
the construction industry, NatSteel has operations in seven countries in Asia.
Tata Steel Thailand: A major steel producer in Thailand, the company
produces steel for the construction industry.
• Tinplate Company of India: Industry leader in India in the manufacture of
tinning line products, including electrolytic tinplate, tin-free steel and cold-
rolled products. Tayo Rolls: India’s leading roll manufacturer and supplier,
the company produces rolls for integrated steel plants, power plants, the
paper, textile and food processing sectors, and the government mint.
•
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• Tata Ryerson: Offers hot- and cold-rolled flat steel products in customised
sizes and quantities.
• Tata Refractories: Produces high-alumina, basic, dolomite, silica and
monolithic refractories and offers design, procurement and re-lining
services.
• Tata Sponge Iron: Produces sponge iron lumps and fines.
• Tata Metaliks: Manufactures and sells foundry-grade pig iron.
• Tata Pigments: Produces oxides of iron, dry cement paint, exterior
emulsion paint and distemper. Its products are used in paints, emulsions,
cement floors and plastics.
• Jamshedpur Injection Powder: Manufactures carbide de-sulphurising
compounds used for the production of low-sulphur, high-quality steel.
• TM International Logistics: Provides material handling and port operation
services at the Haldia and Paradip ports in India; also has freight-forwarding
and chartering services.
• mjunction services: A 50:50 joint venture involving Steel Authority of
India and Tata Steel, it is India's largest e-commerce company and the
world's largest e-marketplace for steel.
• TRF: In the business of design, manufacture, supply, installation and
commissioning of engineered-to-order equipment and systems in the areas of
bulk material handling, processing, reclaiming and blen
• Jamshedpur Utility and Service Company: Re-engineered out of Tata
Steel's town services, JUSCO provides municipal and civic services for
townships.
• Indian Steel and Wire Products: Recently acquired by Tata Steel, ISWP
has a wire unit and a steel roll manufacturing unit.
• Tata BlueScope Steel: A joint venture with BlueScope Steel, Australia, the
company offers a comprehensive range of branded steel products for
building and construction applications.
• Dhamra Port Company: A joint venture between Larsen & Toubro and
Tata Steel to build a deep-draft (18 metres) all-weather port in Orissa on the
east coast of India.
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• Hooghly Met Coke & Power Company: A joint venture with the West
Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, producing met coke and
electric power.
• Lanka Special Steel: A Sri Lankan unit that manufactures galvanised wires.
• Sila Eastern Company: Established to develop limestone mines in Thailand,
mainly for captive use.
• Tata Steel KZN: Setting up a high carbon ferrochrome plant in South
Africa with an annual production capacity of 135,000 tonnes.
• Tata NYK: A 50:50 joint venture with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
(NYK Line) to set up a shipping company to handle dry-bulk and break-bulk
cargo.
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Tata Power
Tata Power is India’s largest power utility in the private sector today, with a
presence in generation, transmission, distribution and trading. The company was
established in 1911 as the Tata Hydro-Electric Power Supply Company to supply
power to Mumbai.
Tata Power has an installed power generation capacity of over 2,300mw in the
areas of thermal, solar, hydro and wind energy generation. In addition, the
company is implementing a 4,000mw mega power project in Mundra, Gujarat.
Areas of business
The company operates across the entire power value chain, from generation,
transmission and distribution to trading and consultancy.
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Joint ventures, subsidiaries and associates
Tata Motors has over 1,400 engineers and scientists in six R&D centres in India,
South Korea, Spain and the UK. Its vehicles are exported to Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and South America.
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Areas of business
Tata Motors makes passenger cars, multi-utility vehicles and light, medium and
heavy commercial vehicles.
• Passenger cars: The company launched the compact Tata Indica in 1998, the
sedan Indigo in 2002 and the station wagon Indigo Marina in 2004. Tata
Motors also distributes Fiat’s cars in India.
• Utility vehicles: The Tata Sumo was launched in 1994 and the Tata Safari in
1998.
• Commercial vehicles: The commercial vehicle range extends from the light
two-tonne truck to heavy dumpers and multi-axled vehicles in the above 40-
tonne segment.
• Passenger buses: The company also manufactures and sells passenger buses,
12-seaters to 60-seaters, in the light, medium and heavy segments.
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• Tata Motors (Thailand) is a joint venture between Tata Motors (70 per cent)
and Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co (30 per cent) to manufacture
and market the company’s pickup vehicles in Thailand.
• Tata Cummins manufactures high horsepower engines used in the
company’s range of commercial vehicles.
• HV Transmissions and HV Axles are 100-per cent subsidiaries that make
gearboxes and axles for heavy and medium commercial vehicles .
• TAL Manufacturing Solutions is a 100-per cent subsidiary that provides
factory automation solutions and designs and manufactures a wide range of
machine tools.
• Hispano Carrocera is a Spanish bus manufacturing company in which Tata
More has a 21-per cent stake.
• Concorde Motors is a 100 per cent subsidiary retailing Tata Motors’ range of
passenger vehicles.
• Tata Motors Finance is a 100 per cent subsidiary in the business of financing
customers and channel partners of Tata Motors
Jaguar Land Rover is a business built around two great British car brands with
exceptional design and engineering capabilities. Jaguar Land Rover’s
manufacturing facilities are in the UK.
Areas of business
Jaguar Land Rover’s manufacturing facilities are in the UK. The Jaguar Land
Rover business employs over 16,000 people, predominantly in the UK, including
some 3,500 engineers at two product development centres, in Whitley in Coventry
and Gaydon in Warwickshire.
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The Jaguar XF, XJ and XK models are manufactured at the company's Castle
Bromwich plant in Birmingham, UK, while the Jaguar X-TYPE is produced
alongside the Land Rover Freelander 2 at the Halewood plant in Liverpool, UK.
Land Rover's Defender, Discovery 3, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover models
are all built at Solihull, UK.
The business is a major wealth generator for the UK, with 78 per cent of Land
Rovers exported to 169 countries and 70 per cent of Jaguars exported to 63
countries. Sales to customers are conducted principally through franchised dealers
and importers.
Location
Incorporated in 2005, Hooghly Met Coke and Power Company (HMCPC) is a joint
venture involving Tata Steel and the West Bengal Industrial Development
Corporation (WIBDC). Tata Steel holds a 98 per cent stake in the company
Areas of business
HMCPC is setting up a greenfield project at Haldia, West Bengal (in eastern India)
with a proposed capacity of 1.6 million tonne of metallurgical coke. The project
will supply metallurgical coke to the blast furnaces of Tata Steel at Jamshedpur,
and for sale in the domestic and international market. Designed to meet stringent
environmental norms, the plant’s waste heat will be harnessed for power
generation by Tata Power Company.
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Location
The company’s headquarters is in Kolkata, India.
INCAT
Areas of business
The organisation also distributes, implements and supports PLM products from
leading solution providers such as IBM, Dassault Systèmes, UGS and Autodesk.
Location
INCAT’s main offices are in Michigan (USA), Pune (India) and Stuttgart
(Germany). Infiniti Retail operates a national chain of multi-brand electronics
stores under the brand name Croma. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons,
the holding company of the Tata Group.
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The Croma chain
The company has a technical and sourcing agreement with Australian retail giant
Woolworths. Under the arrangement Infiniti Retail owns and runs retail operations
in India while Woolworths provides technical support and strategic sourcing
facilities through its global network.
Areas of business
The Croma chain of stores offers, in different cities of India, a wide range of
consumer electronics products across categories and brands. The stores are spread
over 12,000 to 20,000 sq ft and have more than 6,000 products and 180 brands in
eight categories: home entertainment, small appliances, white goods, computers,
communication, music, imaging and gaming software
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Location
The Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (Jusco) is India’s first private
sector integrated civic services provider with a focus on water services.
Jusco was formerly a part of Tata Steel and has been providing municipal services
for Jamshedpur since 1907. It was hived off as a separate company in 2003. Today
the company works with several urban local bodies and is currently executing
projects across the country in Kolkata, Haldia, Muzaffarpur, Bhopal, Gwalior,
Bangalore, etc.
Jusco is the only Indian water company to have received recognition for its
contribution to the development of water sector on the Indian subcontinent by
London-based Global Water Intelligence in 2008. The company is also the first
Indian water company to receive the prestigious 5th Asia Water Management
Excellence Award in 2008 for its contribution towards the development and
improvement of the water industry in Asia.
Areas of business
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Location
Landmark
Landmark is one of the leading retailers of books and music in India. Established
in 1987 as a book retailer in India, it became a part of Trent, the Tata company that
runs the Westside retail chain, in 2005.
Areas of business
Landmark, with over 100,000 book titles, has a wide range of books across
different segments. It also has an extensive range of regional publications and a
comprehensive selection of music. Its other products include magazines, home
accessories, gift items and toys.
The company has an online e-store called landmarkonthenet.com and its own
distribution business (Westland) that supplies books to all Landmark stores as well
as other retailers. The chain also acts as an event host for book launches and
promotions, quiz shows, music promotions, etc.
Location
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Mount Everest Mineral Water (MEMW)
Mount Everest Mineral Water (MEMW) became a part of Tata Tea in 2007. The
company bottles and sells natural mineral water under the brand name Himalayan,
which is the only internationally accepted natural mineral water from India.
Areas of business
MEMW sources its water directly from an underground aquifer located about 130
metres below the earth's surface in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. Himalayan
is bottled at source.
Location
Nat Steel
Nat Steel Asia is the leading provider of steel in the Asia Pacific region. It has
in seven countries:
Singapore, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia. The
Singapore-based company produces about 2 million tonnes of premium steel
products. NatSteel became a part of Tata Steel in 2005.
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Areas of business
The company makes reinforcement bars, wire rods, wire mesh, prefabricated
cages, steel couples and ecomas starter bar systems.
Location
Nelco
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The company was established in 1940 to manufacture consumer electronic
products for the Indian market. It now specialises in the areas of security and
surveillance for defence and civil applications, traction, electronics for
locomotives, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition system) projects,
drives and automation, real-time and embedded software, and VSAT-based
networks.
Areas of business
• Drives: Provides medium and low voltage AC drives for industrial use.
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Joint ventures, subsidiaries, associates
Location
North Delhi Power (NDPL) is a power distribution company that operates in Delhi,
India. The company was set up as a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Power and
the government of Delhi in 2002. NDPL has a consumer base of over 1 million
customers and supplies a peak load of 1,150mw.
Areas of business
The company supplies power over a geographical area of more than 500sq km. It
has instituted several customer-centric initiatives such as online bill payment,
automated bill payment kiosks and complaint management systems.
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Location
Rallis India
Rallis India is one of India’s leading agrochemicals companies. It has more than
150 years of experience in servicing rural markets and a comprehensive portfolio
of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and plant nutrients for Indian farmers.
The company has factories in five locations in India and a network of 1,500
distributors that reach more than 40,000 retail counters. It has the largest
agrochemicals capacity in the country (10,000 tonnes per annum of technical grade
pesticides and 30,000 tonne litres per annum of formulations).
Areas of business
• The domestic formulation business caters to the crop protection and yield
enhancement needs of the Indian farmers through a wide portfolio of products,
including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant-growth nutrients and seeds.
Location
The company’s head office is in Mumbai. Plants are located at Akola, Lote,
Turbhe, Ankleshwar and Patancheru, all in India.
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Tata Africa Holdings
Tata Africa Holdings is the main promoter company of the Tata Group in Africa.
The company is responsible for identifying development opportunities and
promoting new projects. A subsidiary of Tata International, it was established in
Johannesburg, South Africa in 1994.
Tata Africa operates in several business sectors across Africa and has entered into
joint ventures and partnerships with several African companies. Tata Africa has
offices in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Areas of business
Employing over 750 people, the company operates in many industrial sectors,
among them automobiles, steel and engineering, chemicals, information
technology, hospitality, food and beverages and farming. The company is also
interested in energy and mining.
Some of the major Tata Africa companies are: Tata Zambia, Tata Zimbabwe, Tata
Holdings Moçambique Lda, Tata Holdings (Tanzania), Tata Africa Holdings (SA)
and Tata Ghana.
Location
Tata Africa Holdings, established in 2005, is an joint venture between Tata Steel
and BlueScope Steel for manufacturing and marketing products in coated steel,
steel-building solutions and related building products.
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Based in Australia, BlueScope Steel is the global leader in high-quality metallic
coated and painted steel products for building and construction, general
manufacturing and the automotive sector.
Areas of business
Tata BlueScope Steel has two business divisions: buildings solutions and coated
steel. The building solutions business markets pre-engineered buildings, roll-
formed roof and wall-cladding solutions and related building components; the
coated steel business markets metallic coated and pre-painted steel for the building
and construction industry.
Location
The company’s head office is in Pune, India. The building solutions division has
three manufacturing facilities, at Pune, Chennai and Bhiwadi, and a network of 20
sales offices.
Tata BP Solar India offers innovative solar solutions that cater to the needs of
individual customers, large institutions and communities. The company was set up
in 1989 as a joint venture between Tata Power and BP Solar, one of the largest
solar energy companies in the world.
More than 60 per cent of company sales come from exports, mostly to Europe and
America.
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Areas of business
• Road-safety aids.
Location
Tata Capital
Tata Capital is a finance company that fulfills the financial needs of retail and
institutional customers in India. It was established in 2007 as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Tata Sons and is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a
systemically important non-deposit taking non-banking financial company
(NBFC).
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Areas of business
Tata Capital has financial products and services in the following seven sectors:
2. Retail finance: Passenger and commercial vehicle loans, used car loans,
personal loans, home loans, credit cards and consumer durable loans for retail
customers.
4. Investment banking: Advisory and debt and equity market products for
corporate and small and medium enterprises.
6. Wealth management: Suite of advisory and investment offerings for high net
worth individuals.
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Joint ventures, subsidiaries, associates
• Tata Capital also owns around 4 per cent of equity capital of Development
Credit Bank, a growing private sector bank.
Location
Tata Ceramics
Tata Ceramics produces and sells fine-bone china crockery and tableware in India
and other markets. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is an associate
company of Tata Power.
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Areas of business
The company's range includes hollow ware, flat ware and mugs in fine-bone china
and fine china, in an international range of designs. The china is sold to reputed
brands such as Wedgewood, Royal Doulton and Churchill.
Location
Tata Chemicals (TCL) is the second largest producer of soda ash in the world. It is
India's market leader in the branded and iodised salt segment as well as in urea and
phosphatic fertilisers.
Established in 1939 at Mithapur in the Indian state of Gujarat, TCL has, over the
last few years, invested in increasing its stake in the global soda ash business. It
has acquired UK-based Brunner Mond group and American company General
Chemical Industrial Products Inc, making the conglomerate the second largest soda
ash producer in the world.
The company also makes food additives and fertilisers and has a varied user
industry base comprising glass, paper, textiles, food additives, petroleum, refining,
chemicals, dyes, pesticides, direct farm application, etc. It exports to markets in
Europe, Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East.
Areas of business
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• Food additives: TCL’s food additives business has two premium products:
branded salt and sodium bicarbonate. TCL manufactures four varieties of salt,
iodised salt, crystalline salt, vacuum salt and pure salt, and has over 40 per cent
market share in the branded salt segment in India.
• Agri-services: The company has set up a network of Tata Kisan Sansars (or
Tata farmer centres) in the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana and Uttaranchal. The centres are one-stop resource centres for farmers
• Khet Se Agriproduce India: A 50:50 joint venture set up in 2007 with Total
Produce, Ireland, the third largest fruits and vegetable distribution company in the
world, to start a fruits and vegetables distribution business in India.
Location
TCL is headquartered in Mumbai, India. The soda ash plants are located in India,
the UK, Kenya, the Netherlands and the US. TCL's cement and salt facilities are in
Mithapur, the nitrogenous fertiliser facility is in Babrala and the phosphatic
fertiliser plant is in Haldia.
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Tata Power Trading Company (TPTC)
Tata Power Trading Company (TPTC) is in the business of trading power units in
India. It was incorporated in 2003 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata Power
Company, with an equity capital of Rs2 crore. TPTC was the first company in
India to receive a power trading licence from the Central Electricity Regulatory
Commission, back in June 2004.
Areas of business
TPTC was initially allotted a category ‘A’ licence, which restricted it to trades up
to 100 MUs. This licence was elevated to category ‘F’ to cater to the requirements
of a growing business. The company can now, by enhancing its equity base to
Rs20 crore, trade in higher volumes without any upper limit.
TPTC sources surplus power from various states and private-sector power
generation utilities, captive power plants and state-owned electricity boards. Its
trading partners include the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, the Madhya
Pradesh State Electricity Board, the West Bengal State Electricity Board, the
Power and Electricity Department of Government of Mizoram, the Damodar
Valley Corporation, the Haryana Power Generation Corporation and Delhi
Transco.
Location
Tata Sky
Tata Sky, an 80:20 joint venture between Tata Sons and the Star group, provides
satellite television services to Indian viewers. The company was incorporated in
2004 and offers a range of media and entertainment options to customers.
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Areas of business
Tata Sky's direct-to-home satellite platform delivers more than 100 television
channels, movies and interactive services for games, learning, recipes, news, chat
rooms, etc. It has state-of-the-art digital infrastructure and a retail network that
covers more than 4,500 towns in India
Location
Based in Mumbai, the company has three call centres (Pune, Chandigarh and
Hyderabad).
The Tata Tea group is the world’s second largest global branded tea operation with
a presence in over 60 countries. The prominent companies in the group are Tata
Tea, the UK-based Tetley group and Tata Coffee.
Set up in 1964 as a joint venture with the UK-based James Finlay and Company,
the group has operations in branded tea, bulk tea, coffee and other beverages, and
also has plantations. The Tata Tea brand leads in volume market share in India
while the Tetley brand is the second-largest teabag brand in the world. The group
has interests in South African tea company Joekels Tea Packers and Polish tea
brands Vitax and Flosana.
Areas of business
• Branded tea: The company has five major brands in the Indian market —
Tata Tea, Tetley, Kanan Devan, Chakra Gold and Gemini — catering to all major
consumer segments for tea. Tata Tea’s distribution network in the country caters to
over 1.2 million retail outlets.
• Specialty tea: Tata Tea sells black, green, fruit and herbal teas under the
brands of Tetley, Good Earth and JEMCA.
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• Instant tea: Tata Tetley has an export unit that sells a range of instant tea
powders in the US.
• Coffee: Tata Coffee produces 9,000 million tonnes of instant and ground
coffee annually. It has an exclusive stocking arrangement with the Barista range of
coffee bars. Eight O'Clock Coffee is the third-largest coffee brand in the US.
• Plantation operations: The company has over 50 tea estates in India, as well
as interests in Sri Lankan plantations.
• Tata Tea Inc: A subsidiary of Tata Tea based in Florida, USA; supplies basic
instant tea powders in bulk to manufacturers.
• Tata Tetley: A subsidiary of Tata Tea; runs an export unit that supplies
instant tea powders to the US.
• Tetley Group: UK-based tea major; has worldwide branded tea operations.
• Watawala Plantations: Tata Tea has a substantial interest in this Sri Lankan
plantation company.
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• Kanan Devan Hills Plantation Company: Produces and manufactures black
tea out of 18 estates in Kerala, India.
• Zhejiang Tea Export and Import Company: Tata Tea has recently signed a
joint venture contract with this Chinese company to manufacture polyphenols and
instant tea extracts.
Location
The company is headquartered in Kolkata, India. It has plants and facilities in the
UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Poland, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South
Africa.
Tata Technologies
Renamed Tata Technologies iKS, the company provides solutions related to the
acquisition, distribution, certification and verification of engineering knowledge to
the world's top manufacturing organisations. The company is internationally
known for its flagship product — i get itTM, an online learning system used by
more than 90,000 members and 5,000 enterprises
Areas of business
The company also offers iCHECK, a product that addresses data quality and
standards compliance, and knowledge-based engineering products.
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Location
The company has offices in Singapore, New Delhi, India and Ireland. Its
headquarters is in Colorado, USA.
Tayo Rolls
Tayo Rolls is a market leader in the manufacture and supply of cast and forged
steel rolls. The company was promoted in 1968 by Tata Steel in collaboration with
Japanese companies Yodogawa Steel Works and Nissho Iwai Corporation (since
merged with Sojitz Corporation).
Tayo Rolls manufactures state-of-the-art rolls for modern flat and long product
rolling mills. Its customers include key integrated steel plants and rolling mills, the
paper, rubber, textile and food processing sectors, and the government mint. It has
also been exporting rolls to Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada,
Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Norway, New Zealand, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore , South Africa, Trinidad, Taiwan, UAE,
Romania, Czech Republic and the US.
Areas of business
Tayo Rolls is a one-stop shop for both cast and forged rolls. The company has
diversified into the production of special castings for use in power plants. As a part
of its backward integration, Tayo Rolls has set up a mini blast furnace of 40,000
tpa for the manufacture of pig iron.
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Location
The Tetley Group is an overseas subsidiary of Tata Tea. The group is in the
worldwide branded and packaged tea business and Tetley is the second-largest
teabag brand in the world. The group was acquired by Tata Tea in 2000.
Tetley was established in 1837. Every year over 60 branded teas are blended and
packed for sale in over 67 countries. Tetley is the UK’s favourite brand and is also
the brand leader in Canada. The company, which introduced the teabag to the UK
in 1953, has one of the largest teabag factories in the world.
Areas of business
Tetley makes a vast range of teas, including black teas, fruit and herbal teas, green,
red, iced, organic, decaffeinated and ready-to-drink teas.
• JEMCA: The leading tea company in the Czech Republic, with a strong
portfolio of black, green and fruit and herbal teas; acquired in 2006.
• Joekels Tea Packers: A South African tea company that manufactures and
sells a strong portfolio of brands spanning the economy and mainstream tea
sectors; acquired in 2006.
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Location
The Tetley group has its headquarters in Greenford, West London. It has
commercial operations in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Poland and the
US, tea-buying operations in Kenya and Malawi, and joint ventures in Pakistan and
Bangladesh. The manufacturing facility is located at Eaglescliffe, near Darlington
in the northeast of England.
The latest additions to the Taj portfolio are The Pierre, New York's iconic hotel,
the Taj Boston, Campton Place in San Francisco and the Blue in Sydney. Its
flagship property continues to be the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai.
IHCL is the main promoter company and owns about a third of the Taj group's
inventory of rooms. In 1993, the company established the Indian Institute of Hotel
Management in Aurangabad in Maharashtra in western India.
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Areas of business
The Taj group operates three business units: luxury hotels, leisure hotels and
business hotels. Its other products include:
• service apartments;
• Taj Air, a luxury private jet operation, and Taj Yachts, three-bedroom luxury
yachts;
• TajSats Air Catering: The largest airline catering service in South Asia and a
joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services, a subsidiary of Singapore
Airlines.
Location
IHCL’s head office is in Mumbai, India. Taj properties are located in Asia, the UK,
the US, Australia and Africa.
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Titan Industries
Areas of business
Titan has four main business units: watches, jewellery, eyewear and precision
engineered components.
• Watches: Titan currently has four main watch brands. The flagship brand is
Titan and there are a number of sub-brands that cater to strong customer segments.
The company also markets Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss products under
licensing arrangements. Titan's after sales service is a benchmarked operation, with
a network of 750 service centres. The company has a world-class design studio for
watches and accessories.
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Location
The company has more than 200 exclusive showrooms across 112 Indian cities,
making it one of the largest retail chains in the country.
Virgin Mobile India is a brand franchise association between the Virgin Mobile
Group and Tata Teleservices to launch the Virgin Mobile brand of services in
India. The organisation was set up in 2007 to focus on telecom services for the
youth market.
The Virgin Mobile Group has created internationally recognised brands in mobile
telephony, transportation, travel and leisure, and music. Tata Teleservices is one of
India's leading telecom service providers, with a customer base of over 23 million.
Areas of business
Virgin Mobile India will design, market and service Virgin Mobile products in
India. The brand will be available in 20 telecom circles and will be serviced by
nine centres across nine Indian cities.
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Location
Voltas
Voltas is India's largest supplier of engineering products and services for the textile
machinery sector and is a major manufacturer of forklift trucks. It provides
solutions in turnkey pumping projects for water, effluent and sewage treatment,
and water pollution control. The company has ISO 9001-2000 certification and has
executed projects in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa and
Europe.
Areas of business
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• Chemicals: Import and distribution of an array of industrial, specialty and
pharmaceutical chemicals, industrial plastics and bulk drugs. The company also
exports gelatine, ultramarine blue and agrochemicals.
Voltas's subsidiaries include Metrovol FZE, VIL Overseas Enterprises BV, Voice
Antilles NV, Weathermaker, Jebel Ali (Dubai), Simto Investment Company and
Auto Aircon (India).
Location
Voltas has its head office in Mumbai and regional offices in several major cities in
India. Its overseas offices are in Abu Dhabi (UAE), Hong Kong and Singapore.
The company has factories at Thane (Maharashtra), the union territory of Dadra
and Sanathnagar (Andhra Pradesh), all in India.
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Market capitalisation of Tata companies
145
0.8
Titan 3,955
146
INNOVATION
Overview
In the last few years the Tata Group has extended its global footprint,
just as it has enhanced its performance and competitiveness. One of
the key drivers of this critical transition has been innovation
The Group looks at innovation as a strategic approach to global growth and has
adopted a three-pronged strategy to encourage it. The three key drivers are better
communication and recognition of innovative ideas and efforts; facilities for
learning from other companies; and support for collaborative research and
partnerships with academic institutions.
147
Tata Group Innovation Forum
Innovation workshops
TGIF invites academics and other experts in the field to conduct workshops and
seminars which introduce new innovation concepts and tools and stimulate
innovative thinking among Tata managers.
148
Thought leadership
In order to capture and disseminate the learning from various initiatives, the Tata
Management Training Centre in Pune and the Group Publications unit at Tata Sons
have been bringing out publications that feature innovation case studies from
across the world, while also covering the Tata innovation missions to the US and
Japan.
Innovation awards
TGIF celebrates ‘Tata Innovation Day’ to recognise innovators in the Tata Group.
149
COMPETITORS
A part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, was established to develop,
construct and operate power projects in the domestic and international markets.
Reliance Energy Limited, an Indian private sector power utility company along
with the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group promotes Reliance Power.
The company was incorporated in January 1995 as Bawana Power Private Limited
and changed its name to Reliance Delhi Power Private Limited in February 1995.
Later, it changed its name to Reliance EGen Private Limited in January 2004, to
Reliance Energy Generation Limited in March 2004, and to Reliance Power
Limited in July 2007.[1]
The company website identifies project sites broadly to be located in western India
(12,220 MW), northern India (9,080 MW) and northeastern India (2,900 MW) and
southern India (4,000 MW). They include six coal-fired projects (14,620 MW) to
be fueled by reserves from captive mines and supplies from India and abroad, two
gas-fired projects (10,280 MW) to be fueled primarily by reserves from the
Krishna Godavari Basin (the "KG Basin") off the east coast of India, and four
hydroelectric projects (3,300 MW), three of them in Arunachal Pradesh and one in
Uttarakhand.
150
Business Profile
Reliance Power Limited is part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and
is established to develop, construct and operate power projects domestically and
internationally. The Company on its own and through subsidiaries is currently
developing 13 medium and large sized power projects with a combined planned
installed capacity of 28,200 MW, one of the largest portfolios of power generation
assets under development in India. Our 13 power projects are planned to be diverse
in geographic location, fuel type, fuel source and off-take, and each project is
planned to be strategically located near an available fuel supply or load center. The
identified project sites are located in western India (12,220 MW), northern India
(9,080 MW) and northeastern India (2,900 MW) and southern India (4,000 MW).
They include six coal-fired projects (14,620 MW) to be fueled by reserves from
captive mines and supplies from India and abroad, two gas-fired projects (10,280
MW) to be fueled primarily by reserves from the Krishna Godavari Basin (the "KG
Basin") off the east coast of India, and four hydroelectric projects (3,300 MW),
three of them in Arunachal Pradesh and one
Uttarakhand. Reliance Power has acquired the two ultra mega power projects of
4,000 MW each at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh and Krishnapatnam in Andhra
Pradesh. The 7,480 MW project to be located at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh is expected
to be the largest gas-fired power project at a single location in the world. We
intend to sell the power generated by these projects under a combination of long-
term and short-term PPAs to state-owned and private distribution companies and
industrial consumers
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Forging ahead, JSW Steel Ltd. is one among the largest Indian Steel Companies
in India today.
India’s third largest steelmaker, JSW Steel Ltd. consists of the most modern, eco-
friendly steel plants with the latest technologies for both upstream & downstream
processes. JSW Steel Ltd. has received all the three certificates
• Galvanised Product
• Jindal Vishwas
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Bharti Airtel
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and
the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23
telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of
technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country
with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel
have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU’s) -
Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The
mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM
technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services
business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The
Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate
customers and national & international long distance services to carriers.
All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and
the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23
telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of
technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country
with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel
have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU’s) -
Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The
mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM
technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services
business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The
Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate
customers and national & international long distance services to carriers.
All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
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Business Divisions
MOBILE SERVICES
Bharti Airtel offers GSM mobile services in all the 23-telecom circles of India and
is the largest mobile service provider in the country, based on the number of
customers.
INTERNET
The group offers high speed broadband internet with a best in class network. With
Landline services in 94 cities we help you stay in touch with your friends & family
and the world
The Company compliments its mobile and broadband & telephone services with
national and international long distance services. It has over 35,016 route
kilometers of optic fibre on its national long distance network. For international
connectivity to east, it has a submarine cable landing station at. For international
connectivity to the west, the Company is a member of the South East Asia-Middle
East-Western Europe – 4 (SEA-ME-WE-4) consortium along with 15 other global
telecom operators.
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EXPORT
India succeeded in surpassing its export target of $160 billion in the last
fiscal (2007-08), as per the latest date released by the Directorate General
of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.
Major drivers
The major drivers of exports during the period were engineering goods
(27.34 per cent), petroleum products (51.97 per cent), gems and jewellery
(23.27 per cent), agriculture and allied products (55.51 per cent) and ores
and minerals (30.34 per cent).
Exports of textiles, handicrafts and sports goods, which were badly hit
during 2006-07 due to appreciation of the rupee vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar
since September 2006, showed improvement in their performance during
the year, the data said.
Tata Motors has announced a net profit of Rs. 2,028.90 crore for 2007-08, an
increase of 6 per cent over the previous year’s Rs. 1,913.46 crore.
The company’s margins were under pressure during the year due to rising interest
rates, constraints in availability of vehicle financing from outside sources and
unprecedented increase in input prices. The company had focussed on cost
reduction measures but there have been delays in the introduction of two new
products, which are soon to be launched.
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Total sales volume (including exports) was at 5.86 lakh units (5.80 lakh units),
which is the highest ever for the company. The company maintained its leadership
position in commercial vehicles and was among the top three in the passenger
vehicles, although it lost some market share. In the domestic market, commercial
vehicle sales increased by 4.8 per cent to 3.13 lakh units and passenger vehicle
sales declined by 4.5 per cent to 2.18 lakh units. Also, after six years of
consecutive growth, 2007-08 saw a 5.3 per cent decline in the company’s sales
volume due to heightened competition and other factors.
The company has maintained the dividend at Rs. 15 per share of Rs. 10 each for
2007-08. .
A new plant at Pant Nagar (in Uttarakhand) for Ace and the Magic range went on
stream during 2007-08. Construction activity is on at Singur (in West Bengal) for
Tata Nano and at Dharwad (in Karnataka) for buses to be made by the company’s
joint venture, Tata Marcopolo Motors.
The plants in Pune, Jamshedpur and Lucknow are undergoing expansion and
modernisation.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Ravi Kant, Managing Director, Tata
Motors, said the investment over the next four to five years would be Rs. 10,000
crore.
“We have plans to introduce around 100 product/variants over the next 4-5 years.
The World Truck product will be launched by the end of this year and the platform
will unfold over the next 12-15 months. It will be launched simultaneously in India
and Korea. The bus plant at Dharwad will probably be the largest bus
manufacturing facility in the world,” he said.
Over the next 12-18 months, the company will be introducing variants of Ace,
Marcopolo buses, the World Truck which is a medium and heavy commercial
vehicle by Tata Daewoo, defence vehicles and ready to use solutions. Among the
passenger vehicles, the company will introduce versions of Sumo Grande, a new
Indica, Nano, Crossover, New Indigo, a new utility vehicle platform and the Fiat
Punto and Fiat Linea from Fiat.
156
Impact of LIBERALIZATION, GLOBALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION on the Current and Future Business
Prospectus
Restructuring Initiatives- Successes and challenges
As the initial europium of opening off the company since 1991 subsided, corporate
India was hit by the negative effects of facing up to global competition. Global
deflation and reduced margins earlier strategies report that corporate India was left
with only one option-restructure and cut costs or perish.
History is full of examples of industrial groups that thrived in the industrial RAJ
but failed to adjust to the competitive era of the liberalized economy. On the other
hand, there were groups that restructured themselves and survived and have
prospered in the greater freedom that they now enjoy. Tata group is one of them
who had changed themselves according to the liberalization demand.
Tata group is probably the best example of a group that has gone through
substantial restructuring over the past few years and had survived the slowdown in
economy and the lower margins. Tata group had three elements to restructuring the
organization:
157
A)Greater say in management of companies:
b) Raising ownership limits: The Tata managed most of the companies with
very small stakes. One of the anecdotes a decade ago used to be the fact that
Birlas have a higher in TISCO than the TATAS. They now have a stake at least
26% in all major companies making it morally and legally easier to manage
them.
c) Crating a common brand equity: The Tata name has historically been
associated with a reputation for honesty and integrity. However there was no
formal set of values running across the various companies in the group. There is
now a common code of of operation in the group that is followed by all the
companies and reflects what the Tata brand name should stand for.
158
3) Restructuring of the product portfolio: It was said that restructuring of the
product portfolio of the group by identifying seven core businesses that did not
fit with in these seven years. Restructureing of the product portfolio of the
group by identifying seven core business that did not fit within these seven
years. Restructuring of the product portfolio again was not an easy exercise, as
can be gauged by the fact that there was a need to start with the basic fact of
taking an inventory of the companies constituting the Tata group. The Tata
group comprised 85 companies in 45 industry group.
159
Shifting Group To Knowledge Based Sectors
Inability of businesses to earn retuns greater than cost of capital:
Another criticism has been the inability of some of the key businesses of the group
to earn return on capital employed greater than the cost of capital.
Shift from generic-driven to brand led business: The group has also been making a
conscious shifts towards bards driven businesses and services. In FY 1991, brand
businesses accounted for around one fifth of sales. Now they account for one fifth
of sales in terms of profit similarly, brand businesses and services are playing a
more significant role. While
the commodity businesses are more cyclical, profits in IT services have secular
growth.
Liberalization
Growth rates are affected by liberalization but they also depend on other factors,
such as savings and investment rates and education policy. In examining
inequalities within countries, a further set of theoretical considerations is crucial. In
particular, in looking at distributional outcomes it is vital to distinguish primary
incomes from secondary incomes. Primary incomes are those generated by the
economic system (e.g., wages or dividends) and these are affected by the impact of
changes in the structure of the market on the incomes people earn. Secondary
incomes, on the other hand, consist of deductions from individuals' primary
incomes (e.g., through taxes), or additions to income such as through pensions
provided by the state, or remittances from other family members, or public goods,
provided mainly by the state, but also by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
and families. Secondary incomes are thus affected by changes in government
taxation and expenditure policies and by access to publicly provided goods and
services.
160
Privatization
The Tata Sons takeover of Computer Maintenance Corporation shows that it is
possible to privatise without controversy.
Prior to VSNL's disinvestment, the government got VSNL to pay out a dividend of
500 per cent, through which step, given its 52 per cent equity holding, it mopped
up Rs.741 crores of the company's reserves. The total dividend VSNL would have
paid out at that time would, based on these figures, have amounted to Rs.1,425
crores. In addition, VSNL was made to pay out a special dividend of 750 per cent,
which gave the government Rs.1,111 crores. Here again, the total dividend paid
out by VSNL would have been Rs.2,136.5 crores. In this manner, VSNL was
stripped of Rs.3,561.5 crores of its cash reserves prior to privatisation. Add to this
the Rs.1,200 crores that VSNL is investing in TTSL, and the total
works out to Rs.4,761.5 crores - which is more than the total equity capital of
TTSL. That is, without resorting to strategic sale the government could not only
have retained control of a profitable telecom major like VSNL, but could have
through its own investments integrated with the consumer. In hindsight, the
government's decision not to give VSNL a basic services licence was a way of
preventing it from exercising this option, perhaps forged by the decision to hand
the firm over to the private sector.
161
Globalization
It is a company that stated its operations less than a decade ago and in the brief
span has charted its course on the world map. Tata autocomp systems has traveled
the long road. In the competitive auto components industry, the company has
strengthend its position in the domestic market and forged joint venture
partnerships in order to become a major global player.
The auto comp industry is subject to a three level global tierisation. On the first
rung are those manufacturers who supply directly to the automaker.
The company now aspires to become a tier one supplier globally. A step towards
that direction was taken recently with a $100 million order from ford for supply of
plastic parts. At the tier two level, TACO is supplying wiring harness to Yazaki, its
Japanese partner. Yazaki, in turn supplies its products to Toyota and Nissan. This
is worth between 7 and 8 million dollars in the current year, but the company
accepts it to grow to $100 million per annum in future. Another example of its tier
two business is
a partnership with Ficosa. Tata Ficosa will become the sole supplier for the internal
view mirror, for Ficosa customers worldwide.
“Having now paved the way into international businesses, the next challenge for
TACO is to become a one-stop-shop supplier.” Says D.S.Gupta, M.D of TASCO.
162
The major players of the auto industry are present in the US, Europe and Japan. It
is, Therefore, important for the company to set up show in Asia and the West. In
Asia, TACO is looking at setting up officers in Thailand, China, Taiwan, Vietnam,
Malayasia and Koria.
Asian countries have certain advantages that India can use to its benefit. TACO has
spotted some of the advantages in its partner countries. Malayasia produces cheap
rubber, China has raw materials for plastic, while Taiwan is well known for actual
assembly of electronic components.
The company should be able to use the core facility and to learn to build capability
at low cost. TACO has recently acquired an order from General Motors and Ford.
It is in the process of setting up a corporate office in the US that will oversee
operations both in the Us and Europe. The company also proposes to set up
manufacturing and engineering offices in Germany and France in the near future.
Despite the global recession in the auto industry, TACO has managed to survive
and grow by focusing on quality, cost and delivery. The company has created
values for its customer by pushing quality through
the six sigma programme. Sequential delivery system is a global norm and by
adhering to it, TACO illustrates its strengths in QCD. As a result of this, the
company has been growing at a CAGR of 30% p.a. The companys turnover was
Rs. 817 crore in 2002-03, and this year it is expected to gross between 1200 to
1300 crores.
163
164
Tatas Some Acquisitions And Partnership Globally
Tata to acquire 26% in telecom JV with S.Africa Govt.
The Tatas are picking up 26% in infra co, a new telecom company in S.Africa. The
remaining stke in the company will be held by the South Africa Government. The
joint venture will be the third network operator in S.Africa, and apart from offering
long distance services within the country, it will also build and operate marine
telecom infrastructure for international long distance traffic.
The deal also marks the TATAS second telecom venture in South Africa. VSNL
already has a 26% stake in SNO Telecom, which has license to provide all telecom
services, except mobile services.
Infra co. will require about $350 million just to launch operations. Of this, the
S.African Government will provide $225 m, VSNL about $ 60m, while the rest
will be funded by debt.
The Acquisition expands Tata Tea’s foothold in American market and is aimed at
consolidating the company’s position in the global beverage industry. The buyout
of Tetley for 271m in 2000 gave a company a major presence in the UK and the
US.This was followed by the june ’06 purchase of Eight O’Clock Coffee for about
$220m.
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Tata tea will finance the deal by investing $192 in tata Tea GB, The UK subsidiary
which own Tetley. The firm’s consolidated debt- equity ratio at the end of march
’06 was 1:1, and it generated Rs.300 crore net cash from operating activities.
In a deal that will expand its presence in US market, Indian Hotels, which runs
Hotels and Resorts under Taj brand, is buying the Boston based Ritz-Carlton hotel
for $170m.The deal will be carried out through its US subsidiary, International
Hotel Management Service.
The 79 years old Ritz-Carlton is the longest continuously run hotel in the US, and
is owned by millennium partner. The Hotel opened for business in 1927 and was
bought by Millenium Partners of New York in 1999 for $122m. Indian Hotels
owns 75 Hotels, is currently carrying out due diligence for the Ritz-Carlton.
Tata steel acquired Singapore-based NatSteel in Rs.1313 Crore deal in 2004.
Tata steel acquired Thailand-based Millenium Steel for about Rs. 675 Crore in
2005.
Tata steel also trying to acquire Dutch based Corus (which is 7th largest steel
company in terms of volumes) in about $ 8.3 bn .
166
Important Milestones and Turning Points
Will it be a million this fiscal? Domestic passenger car and utility vehicle sales are
racing ahead with 8.02 lakhs vehicles being sold in the April- February 2004
period. Just domestic sales may fall tantalizingly short of the mark but if exports
(1.12 lakh cars in the same period) are included, total industry sales will cross the
magic million milestone quite comfortabely in 2003-04.
This is a significant figure for the automobile industry and could well be turning
point from where there is no looking back. The significance is not just in the
number of cars sold but in the quality and category of sales of sales. In what can be
constructed as a maturing of the market, sales in the mid segments –that is, the Rs.
4.5-6.5 lakh range –has galloped, growing at a faster pace than the mass market B
and A segments. Just consider these numbers. Just consider these numbers. Total
passenger car and utility vehicle sales grew by 30 percent in the April-february
period. While the A and B segments grew by 24 percent each, the real push came
from the same C, or mid-sized car, segment which witnessed a 53 per cent
growth. Equally impressive was the performance of the D segment where volumes
shot up 12-fold to 12,526 cars, or a little more than a 1000 cars a month.
And this segment boasts of the Skoda Octavia and the Toyata Corolla, which are
supposed to be premium models with limited market. Roughly one out of every
five cars sold in the last one year was in the mid-size segment and that is
almost the same as the entery level A segment where the only model is
Marutis M-800. In 2002-2003 the corresponding ratio was one out of
every six. So what do these numbers convey?
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Market is evolving without doubt we are witnessing a significant evolution in the
passenger car market with buyers upgrading to mid-size cars, which is really the
entery-level segment in the developed markets. There could be a couple of factors
driving sales in this segment. One is better choice. There are more models
available in this segment today compared to the couple of years back.
The arrival of the Tata Indigo has served to expand the market for midsize cars as
have the Opel Corsa from General motors and the new Honda city.
These three models, along with the the Hyundai Accent, appear to have been the
main drivers for growth in this segment even as those such as Mitsubishi Lancer
and Fiat Siena have lagged in the market-share sweepstakes.
This segment is dominated by Tata Motors and Hyundai with a 20 per cent share
each; marutis share is just half that.
The second factor is rising income levels, especially the concentration of high
incomes at the hands of young people who are obviously aspiring for better quality
cars that are present in the mid-size segment. Adding fuel to this are the various
finance schemes available in market that reduce an Opel corsa or a Tata
Indigo to a monthly EMI of about Rs 5,000, which is considered quite
affordable.
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169
Progress over the years
The Tata group Indias best known conglomerate in the private sector with a
turnover of around US $ 20.4 billion. Long known for its adherence to business
ethics, it is Indias most respected private sector group. With 210,443 employees
across 93 companies, it is also Indias largest employer in the private sector.
The Groups early years were inspired by the spirit of nationalism. The group
pioneered several in first Indian industries: Indias first private sector steel mill, first
private sector power utility, first luxury hotel chain and first international airlines,
amongst others. The groups pioneering spirit continued with Tata consultancy
services, today Asias largest Software and services company, and Tata Motors, the
first car maker in a developing country to design and produce a car from the
ground up.
The business operations of the group currently encompass seven business sectors –
Engineering, Materials, Energy, Chemicals, Consumer Products, Services, and
Communications and information systems, and the scale of the groups operations
and increasingly turning global. Tata Tea is the first Indian MNC in the global tea
industry and indias largest integrated tea company; Tata Chemicals is asias largest
manufacturer of soda ash; Titan is one of the worlds top six manufacturer brands in
the watch segment and Tata Motors is amongst the top six commercial vehicle
manufacturers in the world.
The group is increasingly focusing on new technology areas: it has the largest
footprints in Indias new economy, and is the countrys largest private sector
telecom service provider, and group company VSNL is one of Indias leading
international communication and internet service providers.
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The group has always believed in returning wealth to the society which it serves.
Thus, nearly two-thirds of the equity of Tata sons, the groups promoter company,
is held by philanthropic truste which have created a host of national institutions in
natural sciences, medical care, energy and arts, and which give substantial annual
grants and endowments to deserving indivisuals and institutions in the areas of
education, healthcare and social upliftment.
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Development of Tata Iron & Steel Company: Late 1800s-1980s
Four years after Tata's death, his sons Dorabji and Ratanji began development of
the Bihar site. A factory and township were carved from the jungle and named
Jamshedpur. A conscious decision was made to retain control within India of the
new enterprise, the Tata Iron and Steel Company, by seeking out Indian investors.
In the face of warnings that India could not afford a flotation of this size, the Tata
brothers set out to raise Rs 23.2 million in shares. Within eight weeks some 8,000
Indian investors came forward and the whole share issue was taken up.
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The Tatas retained 11 percent of the stock for themselves. There were enormous
initial problems in clearing the Sakchi site and, once production began, in ensuring
that the coal was of a uniform quality. By 1916, however, production was meeting
expectations and during World War I the company exported 1,500 miles of steel
rails to Mesopotamia. Rapid expansion to support the Allied war effort was
followed by Depression during the 1920s with escalating prices, transport and
labor difficulties, and a major earthquake in Japan, by now TISCO's biggest
customer. The company had to suspend its dividend for 12 out of 13 years in this
period and was on the brink of closing in 1924 when Sir Dorabji Tata had to
pledge his personal fortune to secure the necessary bank loans to keep the business
afloat. TISCO emerged from the 1930s, however, as the biggest steel plant in the
British Empire. World War II brought a resurgence in demand for Tata products
and the company specialized in the manufacture of armored cars, known as
Tatanagars, which were used extensively by the British Army in the North African
desert.
Following six years of almost continuous production to serve the war effort, it
became imperative in the late 1940s to begin replacement of the plant. In
association with Kaiser Engineering of the United States capacity was expanded
and a Modernization and Expansion Program (MEP) was launched in 1951,
upgraded four years later to the Two Million Ton Project (TMP) to give TISCO the
capacity to produce two million tons of crude steel. This was achieved in 1958 but
further expansion was put on hold during the 1960s while the country passed
through a period of devaluation and recession. By 1970, however, TISCO
employed 40,000 people at Jamshedpur, with a further 20,000 in the neighboring
coal mines.
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Further difficulties were created in the late 1970s by chronic shortages of coal,
power, and rail transport. An estimated Rs 45 crores of salable steel was lost
during 1979-80 because of these shortages. TISCO soldiered on, however, and in
the following decade began to benefit from a relaxation of government control as a
more pragmatic attitude to the importance of private sector industry emerged. In
1989, the Tata group increased its stake in the steel firm to ward off any attempts
by outside shareholders to gain control of the company. By 1990, TISCO remained
India's largest nonpublic company, announcing a 30 percent increase in profits
against a backdrop of general depression in the Indian economy as a whole.
Growth of the Tata Empire Over the Course of the 20th Century
The growth of Jamshedpur and the involvement of the firm in every aspect of its
industrial and municipal life was the subject of several studies. Jamsetji Tata was
both a nationalist and a philanthropist. He showed a paternalistic concern for the
well-being of his employees, which set the tone for future company policy. The
British proponents, pioneers of social reform Sydney and Beatrice Webb, were
invited out to India from England to advise the Tatas on the best form of social,
medical, and cooperative services for the newly established Jamshedpur and as a
consequence schools, recreational facilities, creches, and other amenities were
established on site at an early stage. An eight-hour working day had been
introduced in 1912, an officially recognized Tata Workers' Union established with
Gandhi's associate, C.F. Andrews, as its first president, and profit-sharing schemes
were brought in in 1934. Against this, it was argued that the Workers' Union
operated in fact as a management tool to impose its will on a workforce so
heterogeneous by nature that rival unions made little headway. Despite the
reputation of the Tata family for concern over workers' rights, there was much
unrest among the workforce during the 1920s over wages and conditions and it has
been claimed that this, as much as anything, contributed to advances. The
commitment of the Indian Trades Union Congress after independence to the same
goals as central government--economic self-sufficiency and prosperity--allowed
the Tatas a relatively free hand in dictating their own industrial relations policy.
Whatever the arguments, TISCO could claim in 1989 that it had not lost a day's
work through industrial action in 50 years, and its management illustrated its
commitment to the welfare of its employees by commissioning an audit of its
"social performance" by a team of eminent public figures.
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TISCO's success spawned numerous offshoots making use of Tata products, some
of them part of the Tata Group. These included the Tata Engineering and
Locomotive Company (TELCO). This ripple encouraged other areas of Indian
industry to become suppliers of spare parts for new products and by 1970 TELCO
had more than 500 Indian ancillary suppliers.
The second element in Jamsetji Tata's plan for India's modernization was the
development of a hydroelectric capability. Within reach of Bombay's thriving,
basically steam-driven cotton spinning industry lay the monsoon-swollen rivers of
the western Ghats. If Bombay's captains of industry could be persuaded to invest in
the necessary conversion from steam to electricity, the natural resources existed to
provide this new source of power. To encourage the process, the Tatas bought up
sufficient mills to create the necessary demand before launching Tata Hydro-
Electric Power Supply Company in 1910. By 1915, the required dams and
reservoirs, ducts, and pipelines had been laid to feed the new turbines. Two further
power stations followed in 1916 and 1919. Between the wars the family had to sell
some 50 percent of its stake in the hydroelectric company to a U.S. syndicate to
support other less successful firms within the group. By the 1960s, power stations
had been supplemented by four thermal installations, which together satisfied
Bombay's entire domestic and industrial requirement.
TISCO, TELCO, and Tata Hydro-Electric Power Company were only three parts
of the Tata empire that by the late 1970s included 30 separate companies. Together
the group accounted for 1.8 percent of India's GNP, with TISCO alone providing
0.4 percent, far more than any single equivalent firm in the United States or United
Kingdom. In 1970, the managing agency system that had characterized much of
Indian industry since the British period was abolished. Under this system, British
investments in the subcontinent were managed by firms of agents who charged
commission for their services. Tata Industries Ltd. acted in this capacity for many
of the firms in the Tata Group, and until 1970, central control was not difficult.
After this date, shares in the 30 or so Tata enterprises were retained by Tata
Industries, whose chairman from 1938 was Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, a
distant relative of the founder of the Tata industrial dynasty. He was succeeded in
1981 by Ratan Naval Tata, whose father had been adopted by Ratanji Tata's widow
in 1917. Following the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices legislation of 1969,
which represented the views of a government hostile to large private enterprises,
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the Tata group was self-conscious within India about the size of its operation and
great emphasis was placed on publicizing the independent nature of each of its
firms. It was pointed out that 75 percent of the firms' shares was owned by trusts
established by the Tata family to promote research and welfare projects. In reality,
the Tatas had been adept in holding together their empire with a steady growth in
the group's assets, much informal consultation between firms, a recurrence of
names in the lists of directors, and a shared head office in Bombay.
The continued prosperity of the group during the difficult postwar years for private
sector firms was probably also helped by its refusal to take up an overtly political
stance in opposition to prevailing government policy. The only exception was in
1956, when it backed the short-lived Forum of Free Enterprise against a
government committed to assigning a dominant role to public sector industry.
Government monopoly legislation also restricted diversification into high-profit
areas such as fertilizers or pharmaceuticals, an obvious move for a group such as
Tata whose traditional staple was high-cost, low-profit industry. There were no
restrictions on overseas investment or new technology, however, and inroads into
both these areas were made. India needed firms such as TISCO or TELCO if the
country was to maintain a viable industrial capability. Therefore, even when
government controls officially restricted growth, the Tata Electric Company was
given the green light during the 1970s to build privately a new 500-megawatt
plant, and sanction was given to TELCO to increase its output from 24,000 to
36,000 vehicles per year.
TISCO developed as one of the independent but interrelated companies within the
Tata group. Among the better known of these firms is the Indian Hotels Company,
whose centerpiece, the Taj Mahal Hotel, in Bombay, was conceived by Jamsetji
Tata and opened in 1913, as the first hotel in the country using electricity. Tata
Chemicals was launched in 1939, and its Mithpur plant produced mineral extracts
required for glass, ceramic, and leather production. The plant had a checkered
history in its early years owing to delays in perfecting the soda ash process. With
the support of the Tata group and the usual Tata resourcefulness in times of crisis,
however, the company stayed in business. For example, when a drought in 1962
threatened to close the plant, management prevailed upon the local population to
ration the domestic consumption of water. This "lakeless week" was a great
success and ensured that sufficient supplies of water remained for the company to
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continue in production. Another venture in 1962 involved joining with James
Finlay and Company of Scotland to form the Tata-Finlay Company, which bought
Finlay's 53 tea estates and has become the biggest tea producer in the world.
The third requirement of Jamsetji Tata for a successful and independent India was
a system of technical education. His scheme to launch a Science University in
India in 1898 was opposed by the viceroy Lord Curzon as overambitious and
inappropriate for Indian needs. Tata persevered, however, and offered to
underwrite the project with an endowment derived from his Bombay properties. He
did not live to see the scheme realized. After Curzon's departure, the government
of India showed itself more amenable to the proposal, and in 1911, Bangalore was
chosen as the site for an Indian Institute of Science with joint funding from the
Tata family, central, and provincial governments. The institute produced a number
of eminent scientists and became a focus for much pioneering research. Tata funds
have gone into other projects such as the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in
Bombay, which has developed techniques for more efficient power generation.
One of Jamshedji's greatest legacies was a concern for creating better educational
opportunities for his countrymen. By the 1920s, one in five of Indian recruits to the
Indian civil service had benefited from Tata scholarships.
This commitment to education, welfare, and other humanitarian projects continues
today and is part of the Tata distinctiveness. TISCO, for example, took part in a
Green Millennium Countdown program and planted 1.5 million trees. In 2001, it
also supported the Lifeline Express program that provided healthcare to those
living in remote areas. TISCO is also known for providing relief during natural
disasters and was awarded the Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award from the
Economic Times.
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The Tata family was often accused of paternalism toward its workers, of an often
ill-judged concern for the continued existence of every member of the corporate
group irrespective of profitability, and of an over-concentration on traditional high-
cost but low-profit industries. TISCO, however, cut its workforce from 78,669
employees in 1993 to 48,821 in March 2001. The management culture of the group
as a whole was changing in the new millennium. Tata directors were focused on
profitable operations as well as securing leading industry positions for each Tata
company.
Since the abolition of the managing agency system in 1970, TISCO and the various
Tata companies operated entirely independently, but they retained many personal,
family, and business ties. TISCO and most of the larger firms in the "family"
shared the same head office in Bombay. The Tata sense of identity survived a
postwar period of almost continuous economic and political adversity. At the start
of the new millennium, the Tata group included 80 companies involved in various
industries including engineering, chemicals, energy, materials, consumer products,
IT and communications, and services.
During the 1990s, TISCO was faced with trying economic times as it forged ahead
with modernization and expansion. During the decade, the steel firm began its
fourth stage of upgrades and improvements. As part of the modernization, TISCO
planned to increase its annual steelmaking capacity in Jamshedpur to 3.2 million
metric tons by 1999, up from 2.7 million tons in 1996.
The steelmaker also broadened its geographic reach. In 1990, a U.S. subsidiary,
Tata Inc., was established and the following year, the firm opened offices in
Singapore and Dubai. It was during 1991 that restrictions on licensing, price, and
distribution were lifted in India, allowing TISCO to expand its capacity. India also
began allowing foreign manufacturers involved in such steel-dependent industries
as electronics and automobiles to operate in the country. As demand increased,
TISCO set plans in motion in 1995 to construct India's largest blast-furnace mill
with an eventual annual capacity of ten million metric tons. By 1996, steel
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consumption in India had grown by ten percent in each of the last four years. That
year, TISCO expanded further and teamed up with Inland International Inc. to
create Tata-Ryerson, a joint venture that would provide industrial materials
management services in India.
During the mid-to-late 1990s, however, India's steel industry and economic climate
weakened. Many construction projects in the region were put on hold. As steel
demand and prices fell, TISCO's profits plummeted. In 1998, the company
reported a 61 percent fall in net income. As such, TISCO began aggressive cost-
cutting measures and drastically cut its workforce. While most companies involved
in the steel industry reported losses, TISCO was able to keep its bottom line in the
black.
Despite the trying economic conditions, TISCO was able to complete its $1.5
billion modernization program in April 2000. It began operation of a 1.2 million
metric ton cold rolling mill and also became one of the lowest-cost producers of
hot-rolled coils. During fiscal 2000, TISCO reported earnings of $90.1 million, an
increase over $60.2 million earned in the previous year.
Principal Subsidiaries: Tata Refractories Ltd (51%); The Tata Pigments Ltd.;
Kalimati Investment Company Ltd.; Tata Korf Engineering Services Ltd. (60.1%);
Tata Incorporated; Stewarts & Lloyds of India Ltd.; Tata Technodyne Ltd.
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Tata steel (formerly TISCO)
Company Perspectives:
Consistent with the vision and values of founder Jamsetji Tata, Tata Steel strives to
strengthen India's industrial base through the effective utilization of staff and
materials. The means envisaged to achieve this are high technology and
productivity, consistent with modern management practices. Tata Steel recognizes
that while honesty and integrity are the essential ingredients of a strong and stable
enterprise, profitability provides the main spark for economic activity.
Key Dates:
1907: Tata Steel is established by Jamsetji Tata.
1924: On the brink of disaster, Sir Dorabji Tata pledges his personal fortune to
secure bank loans to keep the company afloat.
1939: By now, TISCO operates as the largest steel plant in the British Empire.
1951: A Modernization and Expansion Program (MEP) is launched.
1955: The MEP is upgraded to the Two Million Ton Project (TMP).
1970: TISCO employs 40,000 people at Jamshedpur and 20,000 workers in
neighboring coal mines.
1978: The Indian government forces TISCO into modernization efforts.
1989: The Tata Group doubles its stake in TISCO to thwart takeover attempts.
1990: TISCO begins expanding and establishes subsidiary Tata Inc. in New York.
1996: The company begins a joint venture with Inland International to build a
steelworks facility in India.
1998: TISCO records a 61 percent decline in net income due to a downturn in the
steel industry.
2000: TISCO completes a ten-year, $1.5 billion modernization program.
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Future Prospectus and Outlook
Nano manufacturing at Singur to start in Q4
Tata Motors expects to start manufacturing of its much-hyped mini car Nano at
Singur in the fourth quarter of this calendar year. The high volumes of Nano is
expected to dramatically change Tata Motors’ market position, reach and visibility,
said company chairman Ratan Tata in the latest annualreport. The Singur
manufacturing facilities would be expanded to meet domestic and global demand
in the future.
Tata Motors, the country’s largest truck maker, is working on new variants of the
world’s cheapest car Nano to overcome challenges posed by high fuel prices,
which could negatively impact vehicle sales, Mr Tata said.
Tata Motors has also started developing new variants of Nano to meet
environmental and fuel price challenges, as also market requirements of several
international markets. The move comes in the run-up to the scheduled roll out of
the gasoline-powered Nano from Singur.
The programme is being managed by Tata Group HR with the support of Group
companies where the candidates may be placed as summer interns. Selection of
candidates and allocation of projects is based on their work experience, academic
focus areas and areas of interest.
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Tata International Internship Programme
In keeping with the Tata Group's globalization strategy, Group HR has initiated an
international internship programme (IIP) that aims to give an opportunity to young
undergraduates and postgraduate students from across the world to gain the Tata
experience.
IIP Interns can be placed with any Tata Group company, based on their work
experience, academic focus areas and areas of interest.
K. Subramanya, COO, Tata BP Solar, discusses the Indian and global renewable
energy industry, and the company's plans to tap potential markets
Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between Tata Power Company and BP Solar, one of
the largest solar power companies in the world, is determined to light up a great
many lives over the next few years. Tata BP Solar chief operating officer K.
Subramanya elaborates on plans of becoming a $300-million company by 2010,
and how it is moving from strength to strength.
Considering the fact that Tata BP Solar has established a name for itself not only in
the domestic market but also internationally, has the company any investment
plans with regard to production expansion, etc?
Tata BP Solar has plans of investing over Rs 100 crore in 2006 in expanding its
capacity. The company's track record has been very good so far and we have been
growing at a rate of about 20-25 per cent every year. We hope to sustain this and
want to be a $300-million company by 2010.
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Right now we are at $100 million. The company is readying itself for the Tata
Business Excellence Model process in the coming years. With regard to production
capacity, we aim to have 43-MW solar cell manufacturing capacity in the near
future. Right now our solar cell manufacturing capacity is about 16 MW.
OUTLOOK
Group chairman Ratan Tata speaker on a wide range of issue concerning the Tata
Group and its pace in a world changing dramatically than ever before what will be
the nature ad scope of Tata Group engagement in the coming years with a world
changing more rapidly than ever before. Here are numerous questions and who
better to address and opportunities before the group as it continuous reinforcing
and reinventing itself in India and in the world.
Over the next five to seven years the group has to start looking seriously and
strategically at creating brand awareness for ourselves in new business
commercially and strategically in this region’s the group also says that in
commodities the brand is not as important as it is in product.
The group chairman Ratan Tata says that we are not promoting our one brand but
we are getting serious of properties that have their one brand it can also happen
with a company like Titan if you are willing to spend huge amount of money
propagating the brand it will work.
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Succession planning
Although Ratan Tata is 68 years old he look more like some who is in late
40’s/early 50’s the million dollar question on everybody mind is who will succeed
Ratan Tata. Ratan Tata move is not seen to create any waves being more in the
realm of a technical change.
Mr. TATA can continue to be non-executive chairman of Tata sons till he is
70years old. Some goes for the position of chairman he holds at other Tata
companies as well, a group official said. To oversee the conglomerate, a Group
Executive Office(G.E.O) with executive directors was put in place some times
back. It is guided by the highest policy forming body of the group, the corporate
centre, a think-tank that brings together GEO directors and group seniors,
including Mr. Tata. The change to Mr. Tata authority was best described
by a senior official, likening it to a technical shift from a formal zone to an
informal one.”All that is happening on 28th is that he ceases to be Executive
Chairman, ” he said, citing as example the of Dr. J.J Irani, who on turning 65
stepped down as Managing Director, Tata Steel, continues to be a non-executive
Director of Tata sons and is Chairman
of Tata Teleservices. A common response across the group was that the late
J.R.D.TATA was non-executive chairman for many years. So , it makes no
difference, ”one official said. Thus December 28 does not by itself raise the spectra
of a succession plan at Bombay House. There is time till December 2007,when Mr.
TATA turns 70.The way insiders see it: Mr. Tata’s chairmanship is founded on
grounds much stronger than his retention of executive authority. Taking over a
collection of companies, some of them ruled by long-lasting fiefdoms, Mr.
TATA’s central achievements was putting the glue back into the group. The
Promoter’s stake in key Tata companies was increased and adherence for the
Tata’s. Along the way, the group made solid advances with its old economy
companies- Tata’s steel new cold rolled mill, Tata Engineering’s foray into cars
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and Tata Tea’s acquisition of the UK-based Tetley. Exits occurred, from the
erstwhile Tata oil mills company, Lakme and Acc. slip-ups too happened, most
publicized being the still unraveling mess at Tata Finance. But further on the
upside, the Tata’s are now a leading role in telecom with the VSNL and Tata
Teleservices, while infotech major Tata consultancy services is touted as a
significant unlocking of value due in near future. Simply put ,Mr. Ratan Tata has a
track record that finches respect with or without executive powers. Though he
joined the Tata in 1962 , it was his appointment in October 1981 as chairman, Tata
industries-the group’s holding company for new businesses-that pushed Mr. Ratan
Tata centre stage.
As he took over that post from J.R.D, he was seen to be a successor in the making.
Coming Saturday, nothing like that is due at Tata Industries, if chairmanship there
were indeed the accepted route to eventual succession at Tata sons. On the other
hand, changes in management structure at the group’s apex –essentially the
corporate center and
GEO-could be interpreted as preparing the Tata’s for a time when its original
family promoters are not so closely associated with the operations of the group, as
at present. have the Tata then, adopted a structure, which can run without a Tata at
the helm?
There is no answer to this either.”It shows the extreme professionalism of the
group at the highest level,” was all what one top official would say.
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OFFICE DYNAMICS SUCCESS PLANNING
Workplaces have begun to look very different from the way they used to in the
past-pastel colours, soft furnishings, open plans, piped music, attractive cafeterias,
play and relaxation areas. In some BPO organisation, calendarised and hyped-up
fun events run by dedicated section of the HR department from part of the
employee engagement and retention strategy. Work teams are beginning to become
diverse in terms of age, academic training and experience-and, yes most
heartening, in terms of gender as well. There is much greater openness to having
people in their in senior positions. Increasingly, people in the same workplace have
different relationships with the organisation they are working for-some are
employees, other are consultants, and others are vendors’ employees. Some of
them are employed by a ‘temping’ organisation, while some work from home or
only part-time. Many can come and go at different times of the day-times of their
choosing. Among employees, some get paid more then others in similar roles,
based on how the organisation values their knowledge, skills, experience, network,
or potential. Employees are increasingly opting forretials. Instead, they are taking
charge of their financial planning, exploring avenues such as mutual funds and
stock markets more aggressively. They are going for insurance policies with varied
features that suit their risk mitigation needs.The workplace of the future will only
accelerate these trends.
The interesting thing about the future is that a lot of it is already here in seedling
form,in the form of fringe movements, ’videos’ and weak signals strengthen .The
challenge for us is to know in advance which of these will in fact become
significant realities in the future.
The shape of things to come so, what sense can we make of future? I think people
will increasingly make three demands: choice, flexibility and autonomy, in all
aspects of their lives, including work. The work place of the future will strive to
provide these for individuals-and in the process, l earn to cherish the values of
commitment, consistency and co-existence.
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Choice and commitment will have to go hand in hand-each can exits only when the
other does. Similarly, the world seems to be becoming more tolerant of multiplicity
of views and approaches, yet seeking greater predictability and consistency. There
will be as much value placed on diversity and spontaneity as on achieving
sixsigma. Finally, empowerment and autonomy, signaling freedom from
supervision, are leading employees to learn to temper their behaviors to align
efforts with those they work with the changing demographics the world over and
especially in India will mean that the ‘baby boomers’ of today will find the ‘genX’
and ‘genY’ opportunities to save which preoccupied the baby boomers we are
seeing the search for opportunities to spend amongst the emerging workforce.
Malls and multiplexes are bringing weak signals’ of the future of the work
place.How will all this translate into the workforce? Here are few vignettes of what
we might we walk into a workplace of the future:
Greater focus on skills and capability, which will bring greater stress on what a
person brings to the table, rather than who he/she is or has been in the past.
Redefinition of employees-companies will have to maintain a fine balance between
career planning and free agent ship a new work ethic. Focus on doing work that is
enjoyable and meaningful to do. Multicultral workforce greater respect by
individuals and organisations for individuality, local communities and natural
surroundings. Diffusion of office space and work timings. You are likely to catch
yourself messaging from home in the middle of the right to colleagues across the
planet!End of steady jobs and fixed roles. We will see a transition from jobs-for-
life to specific assignments. Markets will price assignments differentially meaning
that people may move from higher paying to less paying to less assignments, while
making other trade-offs. More teamwork at the same time, more work will get
done by teams, rather than by individuals. Greater interdependence in work
processes and less stand-alone work. People may have greater autonomy in their
own work but will have greater inter-linkage and inter-dependence with the work
of others.
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Fewer meeting!Many face-to-face interactions will be replaced by face-to-screen
interactions-screens that will be touch-sensitive, glare-free, with life-like pictures
and sounds. Intuitive machine-man interfaces that can be operated by speech and
tactiles stimuli will become the vogue. Personalized work plans and performance
goals, agreed with the superior, reviewed regularly, with a very serious focus on
coaching along the way.
This will be needed to ensure people get work they enjoy doing, and therefore stay
on this will also be necessary for the rapid grooming of talent that will become
imperative. End of the age of super-annotation and in fact, an end to the
phenomenon of specifying lower and upper age limits for roles. More socially
useful productive work for CEO’s. the challenge of social fracture as a
consequence of economic and opportunity disparities will drive more recognition
of the fact that ‘island’ of prosperity and well being cannot exits admist dis-
enfranchisement, poverty and squalor. Many of the other forces will bring greater
proximity of areas that could be ignored in the past like downtown neighborhoods
and sub-saharan African or part of other societies, greater involvement of business
leaders in managing social issues-heath care, insurance, quality of academic
institution, school syllabi, infrastructure creation and maintenance, stronger
partnerships. Access to capabilities will be seen as more important than
‘ownership’ of assets -people, factories, etc. Organisation and individuals will
come together for mutual benefits in diverse kinds of relationship, depending on
the value that needs to be created at the moment .The whole concept of a
‘workplace’ may become redundant as where people work and the place where
their payment comes from could be completely different greater demand for
privacy and protection of the individual accompanied by greater need for
information on the individual by government, corporate and services related
system-fears of ‘Big Brother Watching will get heightened. The challenge for large
corporation to create the small-organization ethos will continue to seem daunting,
despite the extensive use of communication technology. This will spur the
emergence of an ‘empowered middle manager’ of a different kind, and corporate
roles of coordination and enabling of a less intrusive and directive kind.
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Greater transparency and openness around business policies, including those
related to employees. Greater courage to question them by one and all such
courage will be encouraged due to its salutary effect on corporate intelligence
about business issues of the organisation they work for all this could sound be
wilding to some and exhilarating to others. To me the future has potency, challenge
and ,most fascinating of all, space for the eternal paradox of predictability and
unpred-ictability.so welcome to our worst nightmare and our best dream all into
one! welcome to the workplace of tomorrow.
The world is my office S Padmanabhan, executive vice president and head, Global
human resourses, TCS. Boundaries in the business world are increasingly
dissolving. As delivery move around the world are increasingly dissolving. As
companies move around the world setting up offices, services delivery centers and
manufacturing hubs, there will be an even forward. The globalization of the
workforce will have a far-reaching impact on every aspects of human resources.
Processes, policies and system will have to evolve and challenge according to the
region or country. But the biggest challenge we face is integrating this global
workforce. For the Tata Group, acquisition have become a way of life and handling
integration issues has become a way of life and handling integration issues has
become a critical function of HR departments. In international acquisition, we have
to deal with different nationalities, regulatory issues and even the tensions of being
acquired or merged. There are also many soft issues involved with integrating the
management, the workforce, and business practices. Earlier at TCS, foreign
nationals formed less then one per cent of the workforce with over 62,000
associates from 53 nationalities, the company is emerging as a true global firm
with a diverse employee base. We have found that the best way of assimilating
them into TCS’s culture is to have them work on projects together with our people
both in India and outside while recruiting internationally, we need to respect the
local legal norms, cultures and attitudes. That has been the learning at TCS. We
need to understand what is relevant to people in different societies, and change our
pitch to suit local contexts. For instance, Indians love to travel and work abroad,
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but in ways other countries people like to work in their own town city. So we need
to focus on their roles and targets in TCS rather than the opportunity
to work in different geographies. Work-life balance today it is very fashionable to
ask,” Do you have a work-life balance?”But this is a choice people have to make.
A company cannot dictate or regulate it by switching off lights at 5 pm or ask
employees to go on a picnic.
What companies can do is to faster a productive work environment within the
working days. If employees need to work outside, then this should be facilitated
though the internet and mobile phones. I feel we should give more opportunities
for people to work outside, then this should be facilitated though the internet and
mobile phones. I feel we should give more opportunities for people to work from
home if they want to and make work more flexible. So it may not be necessary that
the entire workforce of TCS comes to office every morning at the same time. Such
an approach will also cut down on commuting time and enable employees to spend
more time with their families. Work-sharing is another way in which couples. or
any two people, share the work. All this would not mean less productivity but
result in happier employ at TCS we are creating opportunities for employees ‘
‘families to understand what is happening in the company. This gives them a sense
of pride in the work that the spouse or parent is doing and makes them feel less
neglected. The issue of work-life balance is going to become bigger future. We
have start looking at the work environment very differently from the way we do
today. In all this companies need to look at certain regulatory requirements in
different countries. People should not lose out on benefits such as superannuation
and gratuity because employment laws do not permit these for part-time
employees. We will need to consider some structural changes in policies and
people practices attracting and retaining employees compensation has been, and
will continue to be, the big driver in retaining people. But I feel the importance of
money varies at different stages of life and in different roles that people play.
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Once people reach a minimum level of compensation, what matters to them are
their aspiration-and this is where role planning and the work environment are
critical.
Goals and targets need to be clear so that people can know what they are going to
do and they have achieved. These two rules have been in focus for last 25 years of
my life and they will continue to be important. It’s also universally true that people
join companies but work with bosses and equally true, people leave bosses; not a
company. What people will also look for is a comfort level that they have a good
job to do in the company. A company needs to create a good employer brand,
internally as well as externally, by ensuring that people have good jobs which
make them feel proud of working for the organisation.
After that, depending on the demography and age of the person, companies need to
add certain benefits that create a social status for the person, give him or her
recognition outside the company .People want their place under the sky.
Employees can be given opportunities to make presentations at international
forums, or made members of academic institutes or industry associations this will
increase retention. It is increasingly evident that people are reaching higher, faster.
So where do you go when you approach the top? A company can take you only so
far in your personal ambition and growth. After that
the company should allow you to move to an internal or external company. In this
respect, the TATA GROUP has a phenomenal advantage. TATA have more than
90 companies, there is a good opportunity for mobility in groups.
Helping them to grow outside the Group is also good because if that process is well
managed, you have a wider populace as a friend- because if the leader (in another
company) is your friend, the others will align with the leader. For the Group, the
TATA brand will continue to be a magnet for people looking for a job. In the
Indian ethos there is a certain value attached to the TATA.
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Brief on the Stalwarts and their role in shaping the Business house
For the Tata family of people and companies, the year gone by was a call to
remembrance as much as it was a time for achievements and accolades
Theyear 2004 was momentous for the Tata Group in more ways than one, marking
as it did the death centenary of Group founder Jamsetji Tata, the birth centenaries
of two other stalwarts, JRD Tata and Naval Tata, and a slew of achievements by
Tata companie in various industry sectors.
The following is an encapsulated recap of the strides that the Tata Group and its
major companies took in the year gone by.
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• In July,Titan touched a new milestone in creativity by launching Flip, India's
first dual-face watch, with dual functionality and styling.
• In September,VSNL announced the launch of Tata Indicoms global calling
card, which allows Indians travelling abroad to make calls to India or any
other international destination from any mobile, landline or pay phone.
• In October, Tata Chemicalslaunched Tata Kisan Sansar, a chain of one-stop
resource centres for farmers that offer end-to-end agricultural solutions.
• In November,Tata Teleservices became the first company in the Indian
telecom market to launch Push-To-Talk services, which allow customers to
call a group of people at one time by simply pressing a button.
• In December,Tata AIG Life unveiled operation quantum leap, an aggressive
business growth strategy for the next three years. It has set its sights on
becoming a top player in the private insurance sector and on securing a
market share of 20 per cent by 2007.
New partnerships
Many Tata companies forged new alliances and grew through acquisitions: These
are some of the noteworthy developments on this front:
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Hitting the headlines
Tata companies made news throughout 2004 in different ways. Here are some
highlights:
Early life
Jamsetji Tata was born to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata on 3 March 1839 in
Navsari, a small town in South Gujarat. Nusserwanji Tata was the first
businessman in a family of Parsi Zoroastrian priests. He moved to Bombay and
started trading.
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Jamsetji joined him in Bombay at the age of 14 and enrolled at the Elphinstone
College. He was married to Hirabai Daboo[2] while he was still a student.[3] He
graduated from college in 1858 and joined his father's trading firm. It was a
turbulent time to step into business as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 had just been
defeated by the British government.
Legacy
The company started by Jamsetji Tata came to be known as the Tata Group and is
today among the largest and most respected companies of India.
Jamsetji, was however, known for much more than just starting a company. He
was a pioneer in his field and thought way ahead of his times.
When he started the Empress Mills in Nagpur, he didn't just think of novel ways to
manufacture textiles, he also put in place very good labour practices. This was long
before any labour laws came into existence.
Though India remained under British rule while he was alive, he interacted with
activists such as Dadabhai Naoroji and Pherozeshah Mehta. He was strongly
influenced by their thinking. However, he always maintained that political freedom
must be accompanied by economic self sufficiency. Not only did he manage to
create thousands of jobs, he paved the way for many future enterprises. The
establishment of Indian Institute of Science was initiated by him.
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Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904–November 29, 1993) was a
pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. He was awarded Bharat Ratna
during his life time.
Early life
J.R.D. Tata was born in Paris, France, the second child of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata
and his French wife Suzanne Brière[citation needed]. His father was a first cousin of
Jamsetji Tata, a pioneer industrialist in India. 'Jeh', or 'JRD' as he was commonly
known, came to be regarded as the most famous industrial pioneer in modern India.
As his mother was French, he spent much of his childhood in France and as a
result, French was his first language. Tata also attended the French Foreign Legion.
He attended the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay (now Mumbai).
J.R.D. Tata was inspired early by aviation pioneer Louis Blériot, and took to
flying. In 1929 Tata got the first pilot license issued in India. He later came to be
known as the father of Indian civil aviation. He founded India's first commercial
airline, 'Tata Airlines', in 1932, which in 1946 became Air India, now India's
national airline.
Businessman
At the age of 34, he became Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding Company of the
Tata Group. For decades, J R D directed the huge Tata Group of companies, with
major interests in Steel, Engineering, Power,Chemicals and Hospitality. He was
famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards -
refusing to bribe politicians or use the black market. Under J R D's Chairmanship,
the number of companies in the Tata Group, grew from 15 to over 100. Monetarily,
the assets of Tata group grew from Rs 62 crores to over Rs 10000 crores.
He was awarded the Legion d'honneur, by the French Government in 1954. He also
received the prestigious Guggenheim Medal for aviation in 1988. He was awarded
the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 1992 for his service to industry
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and nation building. He died in Geneva, Switzerland in 1993 at the age of 89. He is
buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
His most valuable contribution outside of business was in the domain of labor
relations. He believed in responsible negotiations between employers, workers and
governments in the search for equitable solutions to labor issues. For over four
decades he provided a voice of reason, consideration and conciliation to national
and international organizations working to minimize employer-employee friction.
He was an employer who always regarded himself as a trustee of the rights and
interests of workers. Mr. Naval Tata became part of Geneva-based International
Labor Organisation governing body in 1951 and continued in the post till 1989. He
was also a member of the International Organisation of Employers for 38 years and
was the president of the Employers' Federation of India from 1959 to 1985. Naval
Tata symbolized all that is best of the Tata spirit of giving back to society and the
communities in which its enterprises grow.
He was also an avid sports lover and Indian field hockey was another beneficiary
of his capabilities. He was the administrative head of the game in India when the
country won gold in three successive Olympics. Mr. Naval Tata's caring and
endearing nature, his abiding concern for the poor, his love of a good laugh and his
instinct to trust even those not worthy of it, made him one of a kind. He married
Simone in 1955. Mr. Naval Tata passed away in 1989.
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Ratan Naval Tata
Ratan Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was
born to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata, a Gujarati-speaking Parsi family. Ratan
is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsetji 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. He was schooled at the
Campion School, Mumbai and graduated from Cornell University in 1962 with a
degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering.
Ratan joined the Tata Group in December 1962, after turning down a job with IBM
on the advice of JRD Tata. He was first sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel.
He worked on the floor along with other blue-collar employees, shoveling
limestone and handling the blast furnaces.[1] Ratan Tata, a shy man, rarely features
in the society glossies, has lived for years in a book-crammed, dog-filled bachelor
flat in Mumbai's Colaba district.[2]
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 suggested that the company invest in developing high-technology
products, rather than in consumer electronics. 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.
From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and
recovered its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
declared a state of emergency, which led to an economic recession. 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.
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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 less labour-intensive enterprises had made a 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. As the market for coarse and medium
cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the
Empress began to accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata
headquarters, was unwilling to divert 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, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with
the decision, and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that
the Empress had needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around.
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.
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.
Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his
brainchild, the Tata Indica.
On January 31, 2007, under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, Tata Sons
successfully acquired Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminum producer.
With the acquisition, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian
corporate business culture. The merger created the fifth largest steel producing
entity in the world.
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Ratan Tata's dream fulfilled, His Tata Nano Car 2008
Ratan Tata's dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx.
US$2,200; today US$2,528). He realized his dream by launching the car in New
Delhi Auto Expo on January 10, 2008. Three models of the Tata Nano were
announced, and Ratan Tata delivered on his commitment to developing a car
costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a promise," referring to his
earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost.Recently when his plant for Nano
production was obstructed by Mamta Banerjee(plant was shut down for 2 weeks,its
first car for use in the market will be delayed by a couple of weeks), his decision of
going out of West Bengal was warmly welcomed.This would affect the image of
West Bengal in rest of India and abroad as well.Although, Industrialization in West
Bengal is only supported by CM Budhadeb Bhattacharjee.The final decision is yet
to come.
On March 26, 2008, Tata Motors, under Ratan Tata, bought Jaguar & Land Rover
from Ford Motor Company. The two iconic British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover,
were acquired for £1.15 billion ($2.3 billion).
On October 7, 2008, After a controversial stay in West Bengal, Ratan Tata and his
men on Tuesday shifted their Rs 1-lakh car Nano project to Sanand near
Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), delcaring that
efforts will be made to roll out the world's cheapest car from a make-shift plant to
meet the deadline. Praising Modi for speedy allocation of about 1,100 acres of
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centrally located land, Ratan Tata said that the company had a great deal of
urgency in having a new location and was driven by the reputation of the state.
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CONCLUSION
Since the opening of the Indian economy in 1991, Tata has been subject to global
competition, making it imperative for the group to become competitive in India
against the new entrants. To gain scale, reduce their exposure to the cyclicality of
India’s economy, survive, and achieve a sustainable competitive position in
industries that are globalizing, most Tata companies then looked overseas. Tata’s
recent experience is an excellent case for analyzing ‘accelerated
internationalization’ (Matthews 2002). As it pertains to a challenger conglomerate
from formerly peripheral areas that goes international in order to access resources,
the Tata group has been driven by multiple factors, including the need to access
new markets (e.g., in BPO services), the opportunity to integrate the value chain
(e.g., in steel), and the quest for brand control (e.g., in tea). This strategy proved
feasible because Tata possesses strong leadership combined with vision; can
exploit the possibility of leveraging increasingly developed financial markets in
India, a large domestic market, and global liquidity; and reacted fast to the opening
of specific opportunities at given times.
The process of growth, especially when it takes form through international
acquisitions, has considerable consequences on the nature of corporations, their
internal characteristics, and their relationship with stakeholders. Changes take time
to unravel and loops may originate whereby target companies pass their DNA to
the acquirer and modify the latter’s basic features. Such transformational dynamics
is likely to be more complex in the case of emerging economies’ multinationals.
On the one hand, these companies may use acquisitions in order to access
resources they do not have, rather than to deploy un-imitable ones in the way that
is predicted by the standard models of traditional multinationals. On the other
hand, for this very reason emerging economies’ multinationals are likely to
conclude their deals in more developed economies, where firms are not very
amenable to adopt management methods and values developed in poorer countries.
Operating across borders and time zones and integrating diverse management
teams and corporate governance practices do not seem to have modified the Tata
imprinting. Of particular interest is the fact that Tata has not blindly embraced
ready-made recipes to face the challenges of multinational management, preferring
instead organizational solutions aimed at fostering mutual recognition and
knowledge exchange within the multinational conglomerate. A praise for this way
of managing the group came from Standard & Poor’s, which in December 2006
expressed the view that the “policy to support its companies and the improved
financial profile of its entities also enhances the overall financial flexibility of Tata
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Motors.” In the case of VSNL, a strategic link with TCS has given the advantage
of offering customers a single partner option that can deliver a combined IT and
telecom solution. Another Tata advantage is the fact of being run by a very
successful minority, the Parsis, without stirring anger amid the majority of the
population (as is tragically common in other countries, see Chua 2002). This gentle
approach may distinguish Tata from counterparts that produce much noise in their
expansion.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Our mentors provided a lot guidance but apart from this we took help from these
sources.
MAGAZINE
BUSINESS WORLD
INDIA TODAY
NEWSPAPER
FINANCIAL EXPRESS
BUSINESS STANDARD
TIMES OF INDIA
WEBSITE
www.google.co.in
www.tata.com
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