Business News Desk -The country’s veteran businessman Ratan Tata has passed away and with this an entire era in the business world has come to an end. Under his leadership, Tata Group, involved in business ranging from salt to truck manufacturing, has become the country’s largest group in terms of market value. Tata Group, which started as a trading firm in 1868, currently has about 100 companies, which have a two percent share in the total GDP of the country. At the same time, the total market value of 16 companies listed in the market is around Rs 33 lakh crore.
Trading firm of 160 years ago, now a group worth Rs 33 lakh crore
According to Tata’s website, the Tata Group, which started as a trading firm in 1868, gave the country the first major steel company, the first luxury hotel, and the first Indian consumer goods company. Tata Group started the country’s first aviation company Tata Airlines, which later became Air India. Even before independence, the country started getting Tata Motors trucks. At present, the total valuation of listed companies of Tata Group in the market is around Rs 33 lakh crore.
Ratan Tata took it to new heights
Ratan Tata became the head of this group in 1991. At that time, the era of liberalization was beginning and Ratan Tata had started expanding across the world. Tata Group acquired Tetley Tea. Apart from this, he started an insurance company in Boston as a joint venture with the insurance company AIG. They also acquired Europe’s Corus Steel and JLR.
Ratan Tata made big changes
After becoming the head of the group, Ratan Tata made major changes in the old rules of management. He said that the group needs a direction and the organization of the group should be centralized. Different islands will have to be connected. In this way he started central work. Ratan Tata first insisted on increasing the stake of Tata Sons in the group companies to at least 26 percent. The second responsibility before him was to instill enthusiasm in his huge group and give it a direction. So they decided to exit businesses that were not in sync with the rest of the group.
The group sold several businesses
Cement company ACC, cosmetics company Lakme and textile business were sold. To strengthen his hold on about 175 subsidiary companies, Ratan Tata started taking royalty from the group companies. This royalty of about 1 percent is given to the holding company Tata Sons for using the Tata name. Ratan Tata’s first few years after becoming chairman were spent in restructuring the group. But after that he did many such big things which changed the direction of the group.
worldwide business
Ratan Tata expanded the business everywhere, due to which the group has reach in sectors ranging from tea to IT. In 2009, a big dream of Ratan Tata was fulfilled when the company launched the cheapest car in the market – Nano, the price of the car was one lakh rupees. However, this car did not fare well in the market.
This is how the business started
At the end of the 19th century, Indian businessman Jamshedji Tata once went to the most expensive hotel in Mumbai, but because of his complexion he was asked to leave the hotel. It is said that he had decided at that very moment that he would build a better hotel for Indians and in 1903 built the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on Mumbai Beach. It was the first building in Mumbai to have electricity, American fans, German elevators and British cooks.
first textile mill
During a visit to Britain he realized the potential of the Lancashire cotton mill. He also realized that India could challenge its ruling country in this matter and opened India’s first textile mill in 1877. The Empress Mills was inaugurated on the same day that Queen Victoria became the Empress of India. Jamshed ji had dreamed of indigenous thinking for India. Emphasizing Swadeshi i.e. things made in one’s own country was an important idea of India’s independence movement. His son Dorab accepted the challenge and Tata Steel started production in 1907. India became the first country in Asia to build a steel plant.
