Ratan Tata Passes Away: Key Facts About His Life

Under his leadership, Tata expanded into a business conglomerate valued at over $100 billion.

Born on December 28, 1937, in Mumbai to Naval and Sooni Tata, Ratan Naval Tata was the great-grandson of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. After his parents’ separation in 1948, he was raised by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata.

Ratan Tata obtained his architecture degree from Cornell University and furthered his education with a management program at Harvard Business School.

His journey with the Tata Group began in 1961, starting in an entry-level position. He gained invaluable experience working directly on the shop floor at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. His visionary and innovative business strategies facilitated the acquisition of international companies. Ratan Tata was instrumental in Tata Tea’s acquisition of Tetley, Tata Motors’ purchase of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel’s takeover of Corus in 2004.

The launch of the Tata Indica in 1998 by Tata Motors, under the leadership of Ratan Tata, was a pivotal moment in India’s automotive sector. This locally designed vehicle signified a major advancement for the industry in the country.

Ratan Tata’s vision of producing economical cars for the general public came to fruition in 2008 with the introduction of the Tata Nano. With a price tag of just Rs 1 lakh, this extraordinary engineering achievement was a crucial move towards making automobiles attainable for Indian households.

He once shared that he fell in love while in Los Angeles, but the girl’s parents were hesitant to allow her to relocate to India due to the Indo-China War in 1962.

He was honored with the title of chairman emeritus for Tata Sons, Tata Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Tata Chemicals following his resignation.