Ratan Tata bares his heart on Bengal industrial drought

 

He also asked all to look at what PM Narendra Modi had done for Gujarat when he was the chief minister as he hoped that India will be back on the growth trajectory under the leadership of Modi. 

On Kolkata, he commented, “I find not much sign of industrial development in Kolkata.” He said all looked like countryside development of residential projects and commercial activities as he referred to Rajarhat.

At the event organized by Ladies Study Group Tata spoke on a wide range of social, socio-economic, and humanitarian issues.

When asked to share his vision of a perfect country, he said, “Vast opportunities should be given to the under privileged and everybody should get equal chance to live with dignity that prosperity brings with it. Democracy comes at the top of my list so that each person can lead a life that is based on the person’s capability.”

As the discussion proceeded he shared his experiences about the challenges he faced in life and his achievements after taking up as the Chairman of TELCO and his second innings which is defined by a rush for global series of notable takeovers like Tata Motors acquiring the Jaguar, Land Rover.

On e-commerce industry amid reports that Tata might invest in e-tailer Snapdeal, he said, “We are a country of billion people, where we don’t have access to varieties of products. Sitting at home and buying products creates a new dimension to the unsatisfied demands of the consumers, this can provide a promising business to the urban market through marketing and logistics where products are delivered at your doorstep within 2 to 3 days. We are interested to invest in the e-commerce industry.”

To Ratan Tata the three requirements to define a successful  a business environment of a country should be,  supportive government, supportive market and the government as a facilitator rather than an obstructer.

When asked to share his views on choosing his successor Cyrus Mistry, he said, “I chose to follow a more mechanistic way rather than the way J.R.D. Tata chose in his life.”

Tata also welcomed questions from the audience where he gave out his views on investing on educational sector. “We are looking forward to re-entering the area of education through distance education and physical campuses,” he said.

While talking about women's involvement in the corporate sector , he talked about the need for more peer acceptance and stated that India indeed needs the potential for women in top positions.

He said, “I don’t think we could contribute much to women leaders but we have broken the glass ceiling at the board levels, we really don’t have as many women as we would like to see in the corporate sector.”

Mukul Agarwala, President, LSG, said: "As a business tycoon of India we have admired his way of taking bold decisions and balancing the big deals with projects, never losing focus in the lowest common denominator in the society. His words of wisdom and his take on life will all remain with us at LSG.”

 Tata conversed with Agarwala, Rita Punwani, Vice-President,LSG, Nayantara Pal Chowdhury, Committee Member, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Madhu Neotia, Governing Body Member, LSG.  


(Reporting by Shubhashree Hom, Images by Avishek Mitra)