Tata Trusts plans to go global

Tata Trusts, which controls 66 per cent of shares of Tata Sons, plans to take its philanthropic activities beyond India. Tata Group has been expanding across the world, garnering $73.4 billion (Rs 4.9 lakh crore) or 67.5 per cent of its revenue from abroad in previous financial year.

"Much of what we do here can be done in other countries, but would that be right when you have not exhausted all means to satisfy the demand in India? A quick answer is yes," Ratan Tata, chairman Tata Trusts, said in an interview to Tata Review, an internal publication of the group.

"We should always be open to change here because the suffering of humankind is similar and heart wrenching, whether it be in Africa or India. There are regulatory problems in going that way, but we should be asking ourselves the question. We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but I think we should be willing to play our role of trying to make a difference to the quality of life, wherever possible," he said.

The group is conspicuously absent from the coveted billionaire lists, as its founders bequeathed most of their personal wealth to about 16 trusts they created to give back to society. Ratan Tata became chairman of both Tata Sons and Tata Trusts in the early 1990s after J R D Tata passed on the baton to him. He retired as the chairman of Tata Sons in December 2012 and now concentrates on Tata Trusts.

In the interview, Tata also came down sharply on the political system that has divided India. "We have for political reasons carved out the country according to caste, religion and communal groups. This may help some people at election time, but they don't help in creating a unified country. We are now Maharashtrians, Punjabis and Tamilians rather than Indians. The day we all become Indians again, that's when the country will be strong," he said.

Talking about his passion for investments in start-ups, he said he had been backing businesses in the e-commerce space because they enable goods and services to reach people who could never have been reached in this manner before. However he said, "Some of the valuations are pricey. I support those who are really making a difference."