Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the acclaimed Indian international business conglomerate Tata Group has passed away in a hospital in Mumbai, India, it has been announced. Tata, aged 86, was seen by many as a visionary business leader as well as a keen aviator and had led the consortium for over two decades taking it from fairly humble beginnings to a multibillion-dollar business with activities across several different sectors of industry.
In terms of aviation, Tata Group is most well known for having completed the purchase of Air India from the Indian government in 2023, with the promise to return the country’s flag carrier to its glory days of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, having a role at the airline was one of the most prestigious careers a person could have in India, alongside working for the national railway company.
Tata joined the family business in 1962 after he completed his studies at Cornell University in the US where he studied for a degree in architecture. Tata subsequently worked for several different companies within the Tata Group and was credited with turning around the National Radio & Electronics Company where he managed to reduce huge annual losses and by increasing the company’s market share.
Tata followed in the footsteps of his uncle J.R.D. Tata by becoming chairman of the Tata Group in 1991. During his tenure, he was perhaps best known for modernizing the workplace of group companies by promoting younger talent to the top positions and turning several businesses into highly profitable organizations. As the group expanded its activities, Tata oversaw the diversification into many other business sectors including those in the automotive, steelmaking, telecommunications, and aviation.
He founded Tata Teleservices in 1996 and took Tata Consultancy Services public in 2004, the latter of which became the group’s leading cash cow. In his spare time, tata was known to have a deep interest in aviation, sparked by when his uncle was the head of Air India in the 1970s and was well-known for piloting the Tata Group company aircraft when he traveled for business meetings.
He was also said to be a keen supporter of the group’s ultimately successful attempt to buy the national carrier back from the Indian government in 2023, with the plan to merge it with the Group’s other major carrier Vistara (owned jointly with Singapore Airlines) to revitalize Air India. The merger was given final approval on October 1, 2024, which also includes AirAsia India and Air India Express. The full corporate merger process is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2024.
Following Tata’s death, group carriers Air India, Air India Express, and Vistara have announced that they will be making inflight announcements on October 10, 2024, in remembrance of Ratan Tata.
Air India’s current CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson told airline staff that Indians everywhere especially acknowledge and are grateful for Tata’s immense contribution to Indian aviation and the Tata group of airlines.