India's most loved industrialist Ratan Tata turns 83, wishes pour in from all quarters on social media

The social media was flooded with birthday wishes for the iconic business tycoon who was praised by the netizens for his contribution to India and his charitable endavours.

Highly revered as a man of ethics and integrity, Ratan Tata headed the Tata group for more than two decades from 1990 to 2012. Known for contributing to the fields of education, rural development and medicine through his charitable endeavours. He has nearly 65 per cent of his shares invested in charitable trusts.

The Government of India conferred Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan on Tata in 2000 and 2008, respectively.

Speaking at the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Tata had said, "Working on the shop floor as a young man, I saw close up the misery and hardship of the less fortunate and thought about how one makes a difference to improve lives. As I moved up through the departments and divisions, I continued to see hardship and had more opportunity to do something about it."

At 83, Tata continues to be the chairman of Tata Trusts which resolves child malnutrition by targeting maternal health and poverty.

People from all walks of life expressed their deep regard and respect for the legendary man on social media on the occasion of his birthday.

RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka hailed Tata as the most loved and admired industrialist and also listed the reasons why he held Tata in such a great esteem. 

Here's how others wished Ratan Tata as he completed 83 years.

In an article in national daily Times of India, Tata, who is widely respected for his visionary ideas, said the year 2020 will go down as the most unprecedented one the plane has ever seen.

Sharing his views as the year comes to an end, he said, "This is a test for the human race, and I am confident that we will find a way."

Tata pointed out that each cycle whether epidemic, business or health cycle, have intensity and effects and as these cycles get more entrenched, human have the ability to rise above and deal with problems through creativity and agility.

He said decades ago HIV was considered a killer of humanity. "But when we look back, we invested in research and used all our intellectual might to conquer the virus. And we succeeded," he noted.

"Whether we find an effective vaccine or not, I am hopeful that we will eventually find some cure that will reduce the intensity of this pandemic," he said while asserting that the pandemic should not be taken for granted.

Referring to the economy which has been the worst hit by covid-19 induced restrictions, he said, "Economically, there will be a new low that will require all businesses to transform and adapt to the new normal."

"We will, as countries, have to work hard to boost consumption, bring in infrastructure development to create jobs, and find solutions to revive industries and sectors that are in deep depression," he underscored.

He said the steps taken by the government of India in tackling the economic fallout of Covid-19 outbreak will bring results but it would be critical for the entire country to work collectively towards finding new ways, new solutions and create new opportunities to emerge successful.

Tata also highlighted the importance of collective responsibility towards the vulnerable. He spoke of the plight of the migrant labourers who were subjected to extreme hardships during the lockdown and stressed on the need to build an ecosystem that can protect and grow the community of migrant labourers based on their skills. He opined that such a move would ensure the prosperity of the nation.

He said women will be the most important cog in the wheel as they will increase their contributions in enhancing the economic activities at home, in the community and for the country. "Gender equality and equal reward will be critical for progress. Whenever there is a depression there is always someone who has found solutions. Women, in this case, will rise up but it is important for us to understand if we have the ecosystem to allow them to flourish and fuel their enthusiasm," Tata added.

On the younger generation leading innovation, he pointed out that innovation is intrinsic to the country but "We just don't have the capacity or intent to fund it from within the country".

"In India, we have many young people who have great ideas. In fact, when one looks around, you will see many Indians running large international technology businesses like Google and Microsoft. We must sit up and take notice of why this is happening," he said.

He also spoke how business leaders who embraced technology have inspired him. According to him Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk rose because of the creative environment in the United Sates.

"These are leaders who have excelled in the US due to the culture of creativity that motivates innovation and inspires new ideas," he noted.

We have enough and more of such innovators amongst us here in India, he said.

"It is about creating and fostering a culture of innovation and working on an “‘it’s OK’ to fail” kind of environment. We need to sift through 100 ideas to find those five or six that can be truly successful," he said.

He concluded his thoughts with four things he suggested we must keep in mind as we enter 2021.

1 Let’s not take the universe for granted,

2 there is a large power that governs us. Let’s learn to live with humility and gratitude, as life is uncertain. We must do our best to keep ourselves safe by co-creating solutions that address all humankind.

3 Technology is transforming the way we eat, live, learn and play — let us be brave enough to embrace it and find solutions collectively through collaboration.

4 And lastly, to be part of this high world transformation that is happening around us, we need to foster a culture of innovation that converges with the right investment without fear of failure.