Tata group in safe hands: Ratan Tata praises chairman N Chandrasekaran

Ratan N Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata group, expressed gratification with regard to the direction in which group companies were headed under the leadership of N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons. 

Addressing the annual gala event at the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA), which is celebrated every year on the birth anniversary of J R D Tata, Ratan Tata said after hearing Chandra (as Chandrasekaran is addressed) that he was confident “Tata Group is in safe hands.” 

Tata, who attended the event after five years, was alluding to Chandra’s presentation on the performance of the Tata group of companies. 

Earlier in the day, marking the 114th anniversary of J R D Tata, Ratan Tata had inaugurated the group headquarters, Bombay House, which was reopened on Sunday after restoration and renovation for the first time in its 94-year-old history. 

The headquarters was reopened after nine months. The new office space boasts a modern look with well-designed common and collaborative spaces to meet the requirements of today’s business, Tata Sons said.  

The new technology set up in the building has been designed to create digital workplaces with seamless integration. Each floor has digital meeting rooms with immersive technology to enable seamless collaboration. A custom-made app has been developed to bring together all the technology controls, the holding company said.

“It is a historic occasion and a great tribute to reopen the new Bombay House on JRD Tata’s birth anniversary,” said Chandra. The renovation has revolved around designing for the employees a more modern, collaborative and informal workplace, equipped with the best of technologies and security systems, 

he added.

Bombay House was built on two plots of land bought by Sir Dorabji Tata, the group’s second chairman and Jamsetji Tata’s elder son, from the civic body of Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1920. 

“The Tata group seems to be ready for the future,” Tata said in his remarks at NCPA, which saw a congregation of Tata Sons directors, current and former managing directors of Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, including S Ramadorai, B Muthuraman and Ravi Kant, said a person who attended the event. 

“The mood was upbeat, and the event was well attended. Quite a few former managing directors and Tata Sons directors marked their presence,” said this person. In his address, Chandra goaded the chief executives of all the group companies from India and abroad to set higher goals and take the group to a  newer height. 

Michio Kaku, an American theoretical physicist, futurist and populariser of science, was the keynote speaker at the event. A dance performance by the tribals of seven regions added a dash of colour to the evening function, said the person.