Tata's post-retirement plan: Build a mega design centre

His retirement may still be a year away, but Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is already working on his post-retirement plan. Tata plans to do what he has always been passionate about -- set up a design centre of international standards and scale.

A Tata group spokesperson confirmed that one area in which Tata would work was design, but did not give details.

Sources close to the development said he was looking to set up an international centre with state-of-the-art facilities to design a wide range of products.

Tata has led development of many innovative designs and products, the most celebrated being Nano. In a recent conversation with Kent Kleinman, Dean, Architecture Art and Planning, Cornell University, Tata said one benefit of studying in the School of Architecture was that it taught him to doodle when bored. He said board meetings were one place he would get bored.

The idea of Nano was born with his concern for safety of families travelling on two-wheelers. He played a key role in designing of Nano and gave many suggestions to the design company, Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering. For instance, he was the one who suggested that Nano should have just one windscreen wiper. This kept the cost of the car down and reduced its maintenance cost.

His plan to provide people cheap and clean drinking water helped a few Pune-based designers develop a sub-Rs 1,000 water purifier, Swach. Design Directions Private Limited took more than three years to make this 560-mm unit for purifying water.

Tata also steered redesigning of Jaguar Land Rover luxury models. Under him, the Tata group built strong design capabilities, led by Tata Technolgies, which contributed to Nano’s designing and engineering. The Pune-based company is a leader in providing Engineering Services Outsourcing and Product Development Information Technology services to the global manufacturing industry. Tata Technologies and Hindustan Aeronautics, Asia’s premier aerospace manufacturer, have a joint venture under which the two have merged their engineering, design and manufacturing resources and market reach to provide clients comprehensive “design through build” aerospace solutions.