Padm Bhushan Shri Ratan Naval Tata
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00:00Breaking news coming in. Ratan Tata has passed away.
00:03The announcement from Tata Group says it is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to
00:07Mr. Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped
00:12not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation. For the Tata Group,
00:17Mr. Tata was more than a chairperson. To me, he was a mentor, guide and friend. He inspired by
00:22example. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and innovation,
00:26the Tata Group, under his stewardship, expanded its global footprint while always remaining true
00:32to its moral compass. Mr. Tata's dedication to philanthropy and the development of society has
00:37touched the lives of millions. From education to healthcare, his initiatives have left a deep-rooted
00:43mark that will benefit generations to come, reinforcing all. Tevesh Singh is joining us
00:49on the phone line to more on this. Tevesh, big breaking news, Ratan Tata has passed away at the
00:56age of 86. Well, Padma Vibhushan, Mr. Ratan Tata, he was hospitalized on Monday and since then his
01:07health condition deteriorated. He was undergoing treatment at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai,
01:14where a team of doctors were sending to him, but his condition deteriorated and
01:21this evening he passed away.
02:43Mr. Kalyani, good morning. Thank you for joining us. It's a sad day, sir.
03:04And we are remembering Ratan Tata's legacy. How would you like to remember Mr. Tata's legacy?
03:14You know, I think Ratan Tata's legacy will be remembered by all Indians because
03:21a couple of things that he did which took the Indian business in a different direction.
03:28First of all, he was an industrialist, businessman, philanthropist and the head of the Tata Group,
03:36one of the biggest conglomerates in India, but he was also a people's man when it came to business.
03:43Always ready to give advice, always ready to talk to people.
03:47And the way he created the brand India globally and encouraged people like us,
03:54smaller businesses also to go global was something quite amazing.
04:02It's his biggest call during the 26-11 crisis in the Taj, how he handled the crisis as the head
04:10of the group and how he put people first and the families first. I think it is just enormous.
04:18I've rarely seen such an example of what he was able to do or show in the entire world.
04:28So we respect him for that. Personally, I've known him for many, many years.
04:34I've been going to the Bombay house for more than 50 years now.
04:38Of course, Mr. Tata wasn't in Bombay house for 50 years. He was there from 1990 onwards.
04:44But I've known him personally. He was always ready to meet me privately for advice. Whenever
04:53I had a problem, I used to go to him to take advice and he was quite willing to spend time.
04:59I'm a busy man like that. I was ready to spend time with somebody like me and give advice in
05:06terms of what questions I asked. Many times he disagreed with what I was trying to do,
05:12but that's how life was and that is how Ratan was. I personally will definitely miss him,
05:19but I know the nation will miss him a lot more. He's also a great philanthropist. He's done so
05:25many things for the people of India, hospitals, charities, all kinds of things. And he has done
05:33it all quietly without talking about it, which is one of his greatest qualities.
05:41Mr. Kalyan, you would love to know any anecdote that you could share with him when you last met
05:46him. There are many anecdotes, not when I last met him, but I'll tell you one simple anecdote.
05:54When we went in 2006 to Washington, I was with him on the flight from London to Washington
06:02and we were sitting together and we landed in Washington and you have to go through the normal
06:09immigration and customs check. So at immigration, he pushed me ahead and he said, you go first.
06:20And then he came and he was held back at immigration and they took him to another
06:24room for one hour. And I was trying to tell the immigration officer who Mr. Ratan Tata is, how
06:31you know, what is his business stature, etc. But you know how the immigration guys in the US are.
06:39But that did not rattle him at all. He took it as something that happens in normal course
06:48of doing things. That was his greatness. Anybody else would have got upset, annoyed, you know,
06:56shouted. But that was Ratan Tata. That was 2006.
07:04Intriguing story. So what were his reactions?
07:09Why is it that he was held back for an hour for interrogation?
07:12I mean, you know, there must be something on his passport, something on his,
07:16or maybe just random, you know, in those days, they did a lot of random checks. So
07:23could be anything. Mr. Kalani, which is one Tata group philosophy which the Bharat
07:32Foj group in a sense has imbibed, replicated, or has simply adopted?
07:41To be global was one of the things. Of course, I want to say that we started the journey almost
07:49at the same time. But, you know, that was Ratan Tata's advice to most business people.
07:58He believed that the Indian industry can go global, Indian industry can aim big,
08:06Indian industry can produce good products. He believed in it. And he really encouraged people.
08:12I mean, when we started our business, our biggest customer was Tata Motors, known as Telco.
08:20They were about 40% of our sales. And that's how I was in Bombay House for 50 years,
08:26every year meeting, you know, either Mr. Suman Mulgaonkar, Mr. Talal Iker, once in a while,
08:32Mr. JRD Tata. But, you know, the Tata House always encouraged people, encouraged business,
08:43and gave good advice.
08:51Mr. Kalani, I appreciate your time. Thank you for joining us.
08:54It's completely unparalleled for me or for anybody else to describe the enormous legacy
09:00that Mr. Tata leaves behind. What he has done for India, for the community, for the Tata group,
09:07it's completely unparalleled. He was a legend like nobody else. He had so much vision,
09:14incredible vision. And he was truly an outstanding and extraordinary human being
09:19who lived a very simple life. He achieved so much for everyone. He made money for his shareholders.
09:27But for himself, for his own personal life, he remained a very simple person.
09:33His conviction was tremendous. Whatever he did, with full conviction,
09:40with full understanding, he went ahead. Under his leadership, the Tata group really
09:49from strength to strength. He had the courage to make some extraordinarily successful
09:54acquisitions for the Tata group. In the early 2000s,
10:01to before the global financial crisis, for Tata consumers, there was, of course,
10:06the need to acquire. He took India on the global stage.
10:14Indian company to go and acquire a global company was almost unheard of.
10:20But the Tata group did it under his leadership. So the amount of conviction
10:26to make those kind of acquisitions was truly remarkable. Under his leadership,
10:35Tata brand became a global giant.
10:38The Tata brand, not in India, but on the global stage, that was completely unparalleled.
11:06And lastly, I would say that what separated him from any other legion was his simplicity,
11:13his humility. Despite
13:06all that, he was a man of principle.