Ratan Naval Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, who passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday night was an industry stalwart who was widely respected and admired by India Inc leaders. Infosys founder Narayana Murthy is no exception to that rule. A few years ago, Murthy presented the Life Time Achievement Award to Ratan Tata at the TiEconMumbai Hall of Fame Awards ceremony.
What stood out was Murthy’s gesture of touching Ratan Tata’s feet after presenting the award to him.In Indian culture, touching the feet of someone is seen as a sign of respect, and Murthy’s gesture was hailed on social media.
Honouring Ratan Tata at the function, Murthy said, ”What can one say about a humanist, an industrialist, a philanthropist and a perfect gentleman? All that I can say is that I feel privileged and honoured to have walked in his footsteps.”
Stating that Tata has brought tremendous respect to the word business, Murthy added, “I think all of you entrepreneurs assembled here have to live worthy of belonging to the same club as he is.”
Murthy went on to say that those honouring Ratan Tata are honoured themselves. “He (Ratan Tata) has received innumerable honours from countries and institutions all over the world. It’s too long a list. All that I can say is that they honoured themselves by honouring him.”
Ratan Naval Tata, a visionary leader who transformed the Tata Group into a global powerhouse, passed away at Breach Candy Hospital around 11pm on Wednesday night. His demise ends a remarkable corporate journey that not only reshaped the Tata Group but also established new standards for Indian industry on the international stage.
During his tenure, the group’s revenue experienced a significant increase, rising from $4 billion in 1991 to over $100 billion by 2012, when he retired, making it the first Indian conglomerate to achieve such a milestone. Tata’s leadership also witnessed Tata Sons strengthening its control over group companies, requiring them to pay royalties for using the Tata brand.
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He spearheaded the group’s expansion into new sectors such as telecom and passenger cars, and played a crucial role in fostering innovation through landmark projects like Indica, India’s first indigenous car; Nano, the world’s most affordable vehicle; and Ginger, a budget hotel chain.
Additionally, he oversaw more than 60 acquisitions that extended the group’s reach. Under his guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public, becoming the only major Tata company to do so.
