Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD Tata) is a non-resident Indian entrepreneur and industrialist. He is a pilot, philanthropist and former chairman of the Tata Group. He was a man of many firsts. He was the first licensed pilot and laid the foundation for Air India, India’s first international airline. He was a visionary industrialist who saw the potential for industrial growth in India and took initiatives to achieve it. Under his leadership, the number of Tata Group companies increased from 14 to 95. He is the founder of many successful businesses under the Tata Group, including Tata Motors, Tata Salt, Tata Consultancy Services, Voltas, Air India and Titan Industries.
Wiki/Biography
JRD Tata was born in Paris, France, on Friday, July 29, 1904 (age 89; death). He comes from a wealthy Indian family. He spent his childhood in France. French is his first language. In 1909, his father bought a new house on the beach of Hadlo, France. Here, JRD grew up fascinated by aviation. He was inspired by his neighbor, aviator Louis Bleriot. At 15, he enjoyed his first airplane ride. Between 1909 and 1917, his family moved between Paris and Bombay. It was during this time that he studied at the Cathedral School in Bombay. After his mother died in 1923, his father sent him to England to continue his studies. He has studied in four countries including France, India, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
family and race
JRD Tata belongs to a non-resident Indian Parsi family.
Parents and siblings
His father is Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, who made significant contributions to the development of the Tata Group; his mother is Suzanne Sooni Briere Brière, a French woman. He is the second child of his parents and his siblings are Jimmy, Rodabe, Silas and Dorab.
JRD Tata with his parents, grandmother and sister
wife and children
JRD Tata fell in love with Thelma Vicaji and married her in 1930. The couple has no children.
JRD Tata and wife Thelma Tata
Profession
The enthronement of Tata Heritage
Since he is a French citizen, he must serve in the French army for at least one year. Thereafter, he returned to India in 1925 and took over the duties of an unpaid apprentice with TATA. In 1926, his father died and JRD Tata took over his responsibilities as director of Tata Sons. Three years later, in 1929, he renounced his French citizenship and became India’s first licensed pilot.
JRD Tata gets first Indian pilot license
In 1932, he established an express service connecting Madras (now Chennai), Karachi, Ahmedabad and Bombay (now Mumbai). He flew the first flight of the service from Karachi to Mumbai. The service was named Tata Airmail.
JRD Tata celebrates 30th anniversary of Air India
In 1938, he became chairman of Tata Sons. A few years later, Tata Air Mail became India’s first domestic airline and was renamed Tata Airways.
JRD Tata with Air India crew
In 1946, the name was changed to Air India. JRD Tata is also investing in expanding Tata’s existing business verticals. These include Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Hotels. He further diversified his investments and laid the foundation of the company in the fields of automobiles, chemicals, financial services, information technology, pharmaceuticals and other fields. Air India was nationalized in 1953, but Tata remained chairman until 1978. When he resigned from the leadership of Tata Sons in 1991, the Tata Group’s annual revenue was about $4 billion and its asset valuation had increased from $100 million to $5 billion.
JRD Tata becomes chairman of Tata Group
Contribution to national development
He took the initiative to establish a series of institutions for the advancement of medicine, education, science and art in India. In 1944, he established the JRD Tata Trust and participated in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945. These institutions include Tata Memorial Hospital, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, National Center for the Performing Arts and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. National Institute of Advanced Scientific Research. He was one of the wise men who championed family planning and founded the Planned Parenthood Foundation, which was established in 1971. He invested in developing talent to support the business sector and created the Tata Administrative Services and Staff Academy. In his later years, he even sold his apartment and most of his shares in Mumbai to lay the foundation for the JRD and Thelma Tata Trust, which works for the welfare of underprivileged women in the country. JRD Tata once said,
I don’t want India to become an economic superpower. I want India to be a happy country. ”
dispute
Nationalization of Air India
When the Nehru government decided to nationalize Air India, JRD Tata strongly held on to ownership of the airline; however, even after his best efforts to avoid the airline falling into the hands of the government, the airline was eventually nationalized . Although Inida Air became a national property, he led the airline until 1977 at the request of the Nehru government.
A love-hate relationship with Morarji Desai
In an interview with Rajiv Mehrotra, JRD Tata was asked how he felt about being sacked from leading Air India by the Morarji Desai government. He said,
Not a great experience, but not unexpected. Morarji Desai is the Prime Minister of India. He is the man I have loved and hated throughout my life. We were friends, but at the same time, this guy was very difficult to deal with. ”
Critics of Nehru’s economic policies
His views on economic policy were always different from Pt. Nehru. In an interview, JRD Tata spoke about this when asked why he did not argue with Jawaharlal Nehru on economic policies. He said,
You don’t argue with Jawaharlal. He didn’t want to discuss the issue. But the funny thing is I’m a good friend of his. He trusts me. He knows I admire him. But he knows that I disagree with all of his economic policies and even his foreign policy. I think Krishna Menon and others like him were pro-Soviet. So I can no longer discuss economic issues after that. “
When he was asked whether he tried to discuss matters with Nehru, he said:
Yes. He and Mrs. Gandhi later developed this similar polite little way of shutting me up. When I started raising the subject of economic policy, Jawaharlal would turn and look out the window. Mrs. Gandhi also did other things. ”
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 1930, he flew an airplane from India to England, finishing second in the Aga Khan Air Race.
- In 1983, he became Commander of the French Legion of Honor.
- In 1957, he was awarded the Padma Shri.
- In 1974, he was awarded the post of Vice Marshal of the Air Force, the third highest active rank in the Indian Air Force.
- In 1975, he was awarded the Sir Jehangir Gandhi Industrial Peace Medal.
- He received several international aviation awards, including the Tony Janus Award (1979), the Golden Air Medal (1985) and the Edward Warner Award (1986).
- In 1988, he received the Daniel Guggenheim Aviation Award and the Dadabhai Naoroji Memorial Award.
- Won the United Nations Population Award in 1992.
- He also received the Bharat Ratna Award in 1992 for his contribution to India’s industrialization.
JRD Tata receives Bharat Ratna
JRD Tata receives Bharat Ratnadie
He died of a kidney infection in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 29, 1993. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Facts/Trivia
- He is known as the father of Indian civil aviation.
- JRD Tata often flew Air India and checked every detail of the aircraft and flight.
- Once while on a LK Jha flight, JRD Tata went to check the toilet on the plane and even fixed the toilet roll that had been placed incorrectly.
- He has been a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust since its inception, which established Asia’s first cancer hospital in Mumbai.
- It is said that JRD Tata had beautiful handwriting and wrote more than 40,000 letters in his life.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education