By Ashish Wagh

Pune, October 10, 2024 : It is a very sad moment for the world to lose Shri Ratan Tata (86), Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, the umbrella organisation of all the companies under its fold.

Bequeathing an empire from JRD Tata and growing it manifold would have been a utopian task for Shri Ratan Tata to keep intact the workforce, part ways with those working against the interest of the organisation and yet bringing in a young workforce brimming with ideas and a zeal to perform in a extraordinary fashion. It worked.

While Jamshedpur is called Tata Nagar today, it is our Pune where he established many of his forward looking ventures except Tata motors.

Pune embraced his thoughts and so did the industry which saw good business from his ventures, be it automotive, information technology, allied OEMs, support mechanisms, logistics providers and most importantly the job seekers.

If one drives around in the PCMC area today, Tata group enjoys it’s presence with organisations like Tata motors, Tata Elxsi, Tata Autocomp, Tata Housing, Tata Finance, and many others in the IT hub Hinjewadi where Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) which is the highest rated company in the world in terms of its high ethical standards and the security it offers to its thousands of employees.

Furthering a legacy came naturally to Shri Ratan Tata. It did not take the likes of Cornell University to shape him to be suited for shouldering the world JRD Tata had created. His humility, accessibility and approach towards accepting newer ideas made him the knight in shining armour for scores of Tata employees.

Shri Ratan Tata’s liking for Pune was driven more by his employees, whom he used to fondly call colleagues. As an Industrialist par excellence, he ensured his colleagues never felt insecure in the organisation. He never subscribed to the thought of being a businessman, instead he grew the company’s might by expanding his wings and allowing new ideas to be realised. Classic examples are that of Tata Sumo, which was named after the chief engineer and creator Sumant Moolgaonkar and Chetan Wagh, the brain behind the world’s cheapest car customised for Indian diaspora, the Tata Nano.

All of these innovations were born in Pune and became brands later. So, what attracted the Tata group to Pune? Ex employee and a team member in the development of Tata Indica, Narayan Athalye says, “The team working on any new product is given a free hand, to innovate and refine. Not just our jobs, but our entire family was taken care of by the company because Ratan Tata Sir used to personally ensure our well being at all times, be it happy or crisis situations.”