Ratan Naval Tata (full name: Ratan Naval Tata) is an Indian businessman who was born in Bombay [now Mumbai] on December 28, 1937. He was chairman of the Tata Group, a Mumbai-based conglomerate, from 1991 to 2012, and again in 2016–17. He was chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, and from October 2016 to February 2017, he was interim chairman, and he continues to lead the group’s charitable trusts.

He received two of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan, in 2009. (2000). His current donation of approximately 500 crores represents the single largest single investment made by an Indian in the fight against the global covid-19 pandemic.

Early life

Ratan Tata is Naval Tata’s son (born in Surat). His biological maternal grandmother was the sister of Hirabai Tata, the wife of group founder Jamshedji Tata.

Education and career

He attended the Campion School in Mumbai until the eighth grade, then Cathedral and John Connon Schools in Mumbai, and Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, before graduating from Riverdale Country School in New York City in 1955. In 1959, he received a degree in architecture from Cornell University, and in 1975, he attended the Harvard Business School’s seven-week Advanced Management Program.

During the 1970s, he went through trial after trial and was able to transform Group company National Radio and Electronics (NELCO) around, only for it to fail during an economic downturn. R. D. Tata resigned as chairman of Tata Sons, and his replacement was appointed.

During his 21-year length of service as CEO of the Tata Group, revenue increased more than 40 times and profit increased more than 50 times. He took a risk by persuading Tata Tea to acquire Tetley, Tata Motors to acquire Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel to acquire Corus. As a result of all of this, Tata has become a multinational corporation, with over 65 percent of profits coming from operations and sales in over 100 countries. He was the driving force behind the Tata Nano.

Tata has made a number of small investments in India, including INR 0.95 crore in Ola Cabs, one of the country’s most famous e-commerce platforms. In January 2016, he also put his personal savings into Snapdeal, one of India’s most popular e-commerce websites, and Teabox, an online premium Indian tea seller. In October 2015, he collaborated with American Express to invest in the Bitcoin startup Abra.

Personal life

Ratan Tata stated in an interview that he was on the verge of marrying four times. He got better, however, and backed up his fears about a few things. Ratan Tata was fortunate enough four times to fall in love. He had the most intense friendship when he lived in Los Angeles, California. He fell in love with an American girl while living in Los Angeles. They’d even discussed getting married. Ratan Tata was forced to return to India in 1962 due to his grandmother’s failing health, and she was supposed to accompany him.

However, because an Indo-China war was raging at the time, the girl’s parents refused to send her to India. They eventually married her off to another.

In an interview, Ratan Tata stated, “The only reason they didn’t marry was because of the Indo-Chinese conflict.” The ongoing conflict was viewed as a major war between the two countries in the United States. As a result, she did not come and instead married in America.”

Ratan Tata is known for his high ideals and humble demeanour, as well as his impeccable corporate ethics. His grandmother instilled in him the value of integrity at all costs, which he has carried with him to this day.