Tata, your job is to open more industries, give more employment to people, and leave the rest to God.” JRD evidently took the Mother’s advice to heart. Starting with 14 enterprises at the start of his business career, JRD retired in 1988 with a conglomerate of 95 enterprises that provided steady employment to hundreds of thousands.
Tata businesses ranged from airlines to hotels, trucks to locomotives, heavy chemicals to pharmaceuticals and financial services, tea and air conditioning, becoming a household name. We in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are proud of a special connection with JRD. He was a Director on the RBI’s Central Board for three terms – from 1952 to 1964.