The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 countries.
There are total 29 publicly listed Tata Group companies with a combined
market capitalisation
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
of ₹33.7 trillion (US$403 billion) as of 20 August 2024.
History
During the cotton boom in Bombay triggered by the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and his father became involved with the Asiatic Banking Corporation. However, when the market declined, the firm faced significant financial difficulties. In 1868, the family’s fortunes improved substantially after securing a share in a profitable contract to supply the commissariat for Napier's expedition to Abyssinia. Throughout his career, Tata remained focused on four major aspirations: establishing an iron and steel company, building a landmark hotel, founding a world-class educational institution, and developing hydroelectric power.
1868–1937
In 1870, with Rs.21,000 capital, he founded a trading company. Further, he bought a bankrupt oil mill at
Chinchpokli
Chinchpokli () is a neighbourhood in South Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station on the Central line of the Mumbai suburban railway. Historical British era spellings include Chinchpugli and Chinchpooghly. The neighbourhood is named ...
and converted it into a cotton mill, under the name Alexandra Mill, which he sold for a profit after two years. In 1874, he set up another cotton mill at
Nagpur
Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
named Empress Mill. During his lifetime, in 1903, the company opened the Taj Mahal Hotel at
Colaba
Colaba (; or ISO 15919, ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During the Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was ...
waterfront as the first hotel with electricity in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
.
After Jamsetji's 1904 death, his older son Dorabji Tata became chairman. Sir Dorabji established the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), now known as
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with its primary operations based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel ...
in 1907. Marking the group's global ambitions, Tata Limited opened its first overseas office in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Following the founder's goals, Western India's first hydro plant was brought to life, giving birth to
Tata Power
Tata Power Company Limited is an Indian electric utility and electricity generation company based in Mumbai, India and is part of the Tata Group. With an installed electricity generation capacity of 14,707 MW out of which 5847 MW is from Non-C ...
. Fulfilling yet another dream, the
Indian Institute of Science
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...
was established, admitting its first group of students in 1911.
1938–1991
J. R. D. Tata was made chairman of the Tata Group in 1938. Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$101 million to over US$5 billion. Starting with 14 enterprises, upon his departure half a century later in 1988, Tata Sons had grown to a conglomerate of 95 enterprises. These enterprises consisted of ventures that the company had either started or in which they held a controlling interest. New sectors such as chemicals, technology, cosmetics, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, tea, and software services earned them recognition.
In 1932, Tata founded its airline, known as Tata Air Services (later renamed Tata Airlines and then
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...
). In 1953, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act and purchased a majority stake in the carrier from
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...
, though JRD Tata would continue as chairman until 1977.
In 1945,
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses.
T ...
was founded, first focused on locomotives. In 1954, it entered the commercial vehicle market after forming a joint venture with
Daimler-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
. In 1968,
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in information technology services and consulting. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 ...
was founded.
1991–2024
In 1991,
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
became chairman of Tata Group. This was also the year of economic liberalization in India, opening up the market to foreign competitors. During this time, Tata Group began to acquire several companies. Tata Group bought
Tetley
Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest company of tea in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second-largest in the United States by volume.
Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subs ...
In February 2000. After that, it acquired
Corus Group
Corus may refer to:
Places
* Çörüş, Gazipaşa, a village in Antalya Province, Turkey
Facilities and structures
* Corus Quay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; an office tower
Fictional locations
* Corus, a fictional world that is the setting for the ...
in 2007. The next year, the company's subsidiary
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses.
T ...
launched the
Tata Nano
The Tata Nano is a city car/microcar manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation from 2008–2018, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engine hatchback for motorcycle and scooter drivers — wit ...
, presenting it as "the world’s most affordable car," and acquired
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
and
Land Rover
Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...
from
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
.
In 2017,
Natarajan Chandrasekaran
Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group. He was chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became chief ...
was appointed chairman. He was instrumental in restructuring business verticals and increasing promoter stake ownership in companies. Under his leadership, the group made acquisitions through insolvency law and investments in
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...
, expanded its airline business by winning a bid for
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...
, and completely bought Air Asia India. He has mentioned the future strategy is to focus on healthcare, electronics, and digital.
Tata-owned Air India got approval to acquire AirAsia India nearly two months after putting forth the proposal. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of the entire shareholding in Air Asia India by Tata-owned Air India.
Chairman
The chairman of
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...
is usually the chairman of the Tata Group. As of 2020, there have been seven chairmen of Tata Group.
*
Jamsetji Tata
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate. He established the city of Jamshedpur.
Born into a Zoroastrian Parsi family in ...
Nowroji Saklatwala
Sir Nowroji Saklatwala, (also spelt Saklatvala; 10 September 1875 – 21 July 1938) was an Indian businessman who was the third chairman of the Tata Group from 1932 till his sudden death in 1938.
He was born in Bombay into a Parsi family, the ...
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
(1991–2012, 2016–2017)
*
Cyrus Mistry
Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire businessman. He was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, ...
(2012–2016)
*
Natarajan Chandrasekaran
Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group. He was chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became chief ...
(2017–present)
Affiliated companies
Acquisitions
* February 2000 –
Tetley
Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest company of tea in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second-largest in the United States by volume.
Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subs ...
Tea Company, $407 million
* March 2004 – Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, $102 million
* August 2004 – NatSteel's Steel business, $292 million
* November 2004 – Tyco Global Network, $130 million
* July 2005 – Teleglobe International Holdings, $239 million
* October 2005 – Good Earth Corporation
* December 2005 – Millennium Steel, Thailand, $165 million
* December 2005 – Brunner Mond Chemicals, $10 million
* June 2006 –
Eight O'Clock Coffee
Eight O'Clock Coffee is an American brand of coffee products currently manufactured by the Eight O'Clock Coffee Company, of North Bergen, New Jersey, a subsidiary of Tata Consumer Products; its coffee production plant is in Landover, Maryland. It ...
, $220 million
* November 2006 – Ritz Carlton Boston, $170 million
* January 2007 –
Corus Group
Corus may refer to:
Places
* Çörüş, Gazipaşa, a village in Antalya Province, Turkey
Facilities and structures
* Corus Quay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; an office tower
Fictional locations
* Corus, a fictional world that is the setting for the ...
, $12 billion
* March 2007 – PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) (
Bumi Resources
PT Bumi Resources Tbk is one of the largest mining, mining companies in Indonesia and is structured as a holding company. In the 2012 Forbes Global 2000, Bumi Resources was ranked as the 1898th-largest public company in the world. It is the bigge ...
), $1.1 billion
* April 2007 – Campton Place Hotel,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, $60 million
* January 2008 – Imacid Chemical Company, Morocco
* February 2008 – General Chemical Industrial Products, $1 billion
* March 2008 –
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the sports car and luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational corporation, multinational automaker, car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that ...
and
Land Rover
Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...
, $2.3 billion
* March 2008 – Serviplem SA, Spain
* April 2008 – Comoplesa Lebrero SA, Spain
* May 2008 – Piaggio Aero Industries, Italy (Sold Off in 2015)
* June 2008 – China Enterprise Communications, China
* October 2008 – Miljo Grenland / Innovasjon, Norway
* April 2010 – Hewitt Robins International, United Kingdom
* July 2013 – Alti SA, France
* December 2014 – Energy Products Limited, India
* June 2016 – Welspun Renewables Energy, India
* May 2018 – Bhushan Steel Limited, India
* February 2021 – BigBasket (68%) by Tata Digital
* June 2021 – 1mg (55%) by Tata Digital
* October 2021 –
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...
,
Air India Express
Air India Express is an India, Indian low-cost airline and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India. It is headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The airline operates more than 2000 flights per week to 45 destinations across India, the Middle ...
and 50% stake in Air India SATS for .
* January 2022 – Nilachala Ispat Nigam Ltd, $1.5 billion
* June 2023 – Kaleyra, Inc by
Tata Communications
Tata Communications Limited (previously known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is an Indian telecommunications company. It was a government-owned telecommunications service provider before being sold to the Tata Group in 2002 under the Third ...
for $100 million.
* January 2024 – Tata Consumer Products acquired (75 % ) company equity of Capital Foods, which owns the brands Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones, for Rs. 5100 Crore.
Tata Oil Mills Company
Tata Oil Mills Company also known as TOMCO, was a public limited company and part of Tata Group. It was incorporated on 10 December 1917 with head office at Bombay by Dorabji Tata. It was into manufacture and sale soaps, detergents, cooking oi ...
and its subsidiary
Lakmé Cosmetics
Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand owned by Hindustan Unilever. It was named after the French opera '' Lakmé'', which itself is the French word for the goddess Lakshmi who is renowned for her beauty. It was started in 1952 as a 100% subsidiar ...
* Tata Petrodyne
Philanthropy
Tata Group has helped establish and finance numerous research, educational and cultural institutes in India, and received the
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy is a private award for philanthropy, bestowed every second year to multiple people by the Carnegie family of institutions. In recent years the medal has been presented in New York.
About the Medal
The Carnegie ...
.
In 2008, Tata Group donated US$50 million to
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
for "agricultural and nutrition programs in India and for the education of Indian students at Cornell."
In 2010, Tata Group donated INR 2.20 billion (US$50 million) to
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
to build an academic and a residential building for executive education programmers on the institute's campus in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. The building, now known as Tata Hall, is the largest endowment received by Harvard Business School from an international donor.
In 2017, Tata Trusts gifted US$70 million to
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
and also partnered with it in setting u Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS) to address some of the world's most pressing issues, ranging from public health to agriculture. In recognition of the donation, the building which houses TIGS has been named Tata Hall. It is also the largest international donation made to University of California, San Diego.
In 2017, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) donated an unprecedented US$35 million grant to
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
, the largest ever industry donation to the university, to collaborate on promoting next-generation technologies that will drive the
Fourth Industrial Revolution
"Fourth Industrial Revolution", "4IR", or "Industry 4.0", is a neologism describing rapid technological advancement in the 21st century. It follows the Third Industrial Revolution (the "Information Age"). The term was popularised in 2016 by K ...
, including cognitive systems and autonomous vehicles.
In 2017, the Tata Football Academy won the bid to form the
Jamshedpur FC
Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football league system, Indian football. Founde ...
, a football club based on
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...
of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
in the 4th edition of the
Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...
.
In 2020, Tata Group has donated INR 15 billion to
PM Cares Fund
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 27 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Although it is named for the Prime Minister of India, and uses the State E ...
to fight against
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in India.
In 2024, The Tata Trusts Small Animal Hospital in Mumbai is a new animal welfare effort that
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
has started. This hospital, which is scheduled to open in March 2024, will be an innovative facility committed to provide modern medical care for pets, including dogs, cats, and rabbits. Ratan Tata is personally passionate about the idea, which was sparked by his own pet-related experiences.
Tata Trusts
Most of the philanthropic activities of the group are carried out by various trusts incorporated by the members of the
Tata family
The Tata family is an Indian business family, based in Mumbai, India. The parent company is Tata Sons, which is the main holding company of the Tata Group. About 65% of the stock in these companies is owned by various Tata family charitable trust ...
.
# Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts
#* Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
#* Lady Tata Memorial Trust
#* JRD Tata Trust
#* Jamsetji Tata Trust
#* Tata Social Welfare Trust
#* JN Tata Endowment
#* Tata Education Trust
#* RD Tata Trust
#* The JRD and Thelma J Tata Trust
# Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Allied Trusts
#* Sir Ratan Tata Trust
#* Tata Education and Development Trust
#* Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust
#* Bai Hirabai J. N. Tata Navsari Charitable Institution
#* Sarvajanik Seva Trust
Controversies
The company has attracted controversy for reports of
political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
,
cronyism
Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...
, theft, mass killings, and exploitation of its customers, Indian citizens, and natural resources.
Munnar, Kerala
The
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
Government filed an affidavit in the high court alleging that
Tata Tea
Tata Consumer Products Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufactur ...
had "grabbed" forest land of at
Munnar
Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...
. The Tatas provided that they possessed of land, which they are allowed to retain under the Kannan Devan Hill (Resumption of Lands) Act, 1971, and there was a shortage of in that. The Chief Minister of Kerala V.S. Achuthanandan, who vowed to evict all on government land in Munnar, formed a special squad for the Munnar land takeover mission and started acquiring back properties. However, the mission was aborted due to both influential landholders and opposition from Achuthanandan's own party.
Kalinganagar, Odisha
On 2 January 2006, Kalinganagar, Tribal Orissa villagers protested against the construction of a new steel plant for Tata Steel on land historically owned by them. Some of the villagers had been evicted without adequate relocation. Police retribution was brutal: 37 protesters were injured and 13 killed, including 3 women and a 13-year-old boy. One policeman was hacked to death by a mob after police had opened fire on protestors with tear gas and rubber bullets. Family members of the deceased villagers later claimed that the bodies had been mutilated during post-mortem examination.
Supplies to Burma's military regime
In December 2006, Myanmar's chief of general staff, General Thura Shwe Mann, visited the Tata Motors plant in Pune. In 2009, Tata Motors announced that it would manufacture trucks in Myanmar. Tata Motors reported that these contracts to supply hardware and automobiles to Burma's military were subsequently criticised by human rights activists.
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
was a series of protests by locals and political parties over the forced acquisition, eviction, and inadequate compensation to those farmers displaced for the Tata Nano plant, during which Mamata Banerjee's party was widely criticised as acting for political gain. Despite the support of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
, Tata eventually pulled the project out of West Bengal, citing safety concerns.
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
, then
Chief Minister of Gujarat
The chief minister of Gujarat is the head of government, chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose Cabinet (government), council of ministers are Cabinet collective respons ...
, made land available for the Nano project.
On 31 August 2016, in a historic judgement, the Honorable Supreme Court of India set aside the land acquisition by the West Bengal Government in 2006 that had facilitated Tata Motors' Nano plant, stating that the West Bengal government had not taken possession of the land legally, and were now required to repossess and return it to local farmers within 12 weeks without compensation.
Dhamra Port, Odisha
The
Port of Dhamara
The Dhamra Port is a port in Bhadrak district, Odisha, India, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal about seven kilometres from Dhamra town. The agreement to develop the port was signed in April 1998. The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) was forme ...
has received significant coverage, sparking controversy in India, and in Tata's emerging global markets. The Dhamra port, an equal joint venture between Tata Steel and
Larsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Limited, abbreviated as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with interests in industrial technology, heavy industry, engineering, construction, manufacturing, power, information technology, defence and financial se ...
, has been criticised for its proximity to the Gahirmatha Sanctuary and Bhitarkanika National Park by Indian and international organisations, including
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
;
Gahirmatha Beach
Gahirmatha Beach () is a beach in Kendrapara district of the Indian state of Odisha. The beach separates the Bhitarkanika Mangroves from the Bay of Bengal and is the world's most important nesting beach for olive ridley, olive ridley sea turtles. ...
is one of the world's largest mass nesting sites for the
olive ridley turtle
The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...
, and India's second largest mangrove forest, Bhitarkanika, is a designated
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
(IUCN), and the company pledged to "adopt all its recommendations without exception" when conservation organisations asserted that a thorough environmental impact analysis had not been done for the project, which had undergone changes in size and specifications since it was first proposed.
Proposed soda extraction plant in Tanzania
In 2007, Tata Group joined forces with a Tanzanian company to build a
soda ash
Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash, sal soda, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water ...
extraction plant in Tanzania. Environmental activists oppose the plant because it would be near
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is a salt lake, salt or soda lake, alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania with its far northern end crossing into Kenya. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East A ...
, and it has a very high chance of affecting the lake's ecosystem and its neighbouring dwellers, jeopardising endangered
lesser flamingo
The lesser flamingo (''Phoeniconaias minor'') is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Birds are occasionally reported from further north, but these are generally considered vagrants.
Characteristics
The lesse ...
birds. Lake Natron is where two-thirds of lesser flamingos reproduce. Producing soda ash involves drawing out salt water from the lake, and then disposing the water back to the lake. This process could interrupt the chemical makeup of the lake. 22 African nations signed a petition to stop its construction.
Epic Systems trade-secret case judgement
In April 2016, a U.S. Federal Grand Jury awarded
Epic Systems
Epic Systems Corporation is an American privately held healthcare software company based in Verona, Wisconsin. According to the company, hospitals that use its software held medical records of 78% of patients in the United States and over 3% ...
a US$940 million judgement against Tata Consultancy Services and Tata America International Corp. Filed 31 October 2014; the suit charged that "6,477 unauthorized downloads could be used to enhance Tata's competing product, Med Mantra." In 2017, U.S. District Court Judge William Conley reduced the Award to $420 million; the company states that the judgement is also being appealed, as "not supported by evidence presented during the trial and a strong appeal can be made to superior court to fully set aside the jury verdict.”
2018 NCLT verdict
In July 2018, the
National Company Law Tribunal
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies. The tribunal, established under the Companies Act 2013, was constituted on 1 June 2016 by the government of India a ...
(NCLT), which "adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies," issued a verdict in the company's favor on charges of mismanagement leveled in 2016 by ousted chairman,
Cyrus Mistry
Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire businessman. He was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, ...
.
See also
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List of companies of India
India is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country (with over Demographics of India, 1.4 b ...
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List of largest companies by revenue
This list comprises the world's largest companies by Consolidation (business), consolidated revenue, according to the annually ranked Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 published by ''Fortune'' magazine, as well as other sources. Out of 5 ...
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List of corporations by market capitalization
The following is a list of publicly traded companies having the greatest market capitalization, sometimes described as their "market value":
Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the share price on a selected day and the number of o ...
Forbes Global 2000
The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by: sales, profit, assets and market value. The list has been published annually since 2003.
By country
Forbes Global 2000 as of 2023:
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