JRD Tata
Founder of Tata Motors (1938-1993)

‘No success in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs and interests of the country and its people by fair and honest means.’

JRD Tata, a man who has grown into a legend touched the lives of countless people, rich and poor, manager and worker, as he became the embodiment of the principles and philosophy of the House of Tatas.

He led the Tata Group for 55 years. During that period, as a financial daily put it, ‘The Tata group’s crowning achievement was the making of Tata Engineering & Locomotive Company, a giant that has earned a reputation for investing in men as much as in machines, in nurturing and developing creativity instead of simply buying technology from abroad, in making products appropriate for India and yet good enough for the international markets.”

JRD’s principles and vision laid the foundation for Tata Motors’ growth. His style of management was to pick the best person for the job at hand and let him have the latitude to carry out the job. He was never for micro-management. It was he who zeroed in on Sumant Moolgaokar, the engineering genius who successfully steered our Company for many years.

He was a visionary whose thinking was far ahead of his time. The dream of a passenger car developed in India was born in his time and remained an enduring vision through the years. This provided support to many activities in Tata Motors, which were necessary to see the dream become a reality. e.g., establishment of a full-fledged R&D department at Pune, in-house development of gear box technology, entry into passenger car market and so on.

JRD firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the principles of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers' provident scheme, workmen’s accident compensation schemes, which were later adopted as statutory requirements in the country. In 1956, he initiated a programme of closer "employee association with management" to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the Company.

He believed that the social responsibilities of industrial enterprises should extend even beyond serving people, to the environment. He commented on building the lake near the site of the Tata Motors, Pune plant, ‘We did not have to create a lake to produce a truck, but we did.’ His emphasis on values, on ethics, on investing in education, research, science, technology, health care and in improving the quality of life of ordinary people was a forerunner of the more recent concepts of “corporate social responsibility”.

His every visit to the Tata Motors plant was characterised by a keen interest not only in machines and manufacturing processes but also in the employees. He was at home with any age group and his infectious enthusiasm and warmth as also his courtesy, philanthropy and humanity were legendary even in his lifetime.

JRD Tata was awarded the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1992 -- one of the rare instances when the award was granted during a person’s lifetime. And, on his death, the Indian Parliament was adjourned in his memory, an action that spoke much more than any words could have done.