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Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. He was one of the few people who were awarded Bharat Ratna during their life time.

Born in Paris, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the second child of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife Suzanne Briere.
Established in 1859, the Tata Group was already India’s biggest business conglomerate when Tata became its fourth chairman in 1938. He was then just 34 years old.
Under his leadership, the Tata group grew enormously, making it India’s biggest business group.
During the last half of the twentieth century Tata entered several new businesses, many of them unconventional, and produced a vast range of products — from airlines to hotels, trucks to locomotives, soda ash and other heavy chemicals to pharmaceuticals and financial services, tea and air conditioning to lipsticks and cologne.
As an industrialist, JRD Tata is credited with placing the Tata Group on the international map. As an aviator and pioneer flier, he brought commercial aviation to India.
As a patron of the arts, he was revered by India’s artists, sculptors and performing artists; under JRD’s tutelage, the Tatas became the biggest buyers, promoters and supporters of the art world in India.
And as a philanthropist, he was respected for keeping alive and building up the tremendously active Tata charitable trusts.
His achievements have to be seen through the lens of India’s economic and political history. Under British colonial rule until 1947, India was strait-jacketed by a foreign exchange crunch for almost forty years after independence, which gravely limited industrial entrepreneurship.
From 1964 to 1991 severe government controls on big business further curbed the growth of the Tata Group.
Analysing his own performance, JRD Tata insisted that his only real contribution to the group of companies was Air-India. For the rest, he generously gave credit to his executives.
Yet, it would be a mistake to under-assess JRD’s role. As one of the senior Tata executives, Darbari Seth, once said, “Mr. Tata was able to harness a team of individualistic executives, capitalizing upon their strengths, downplaying their differences and deficiencies; all by the sheer weight of his leadership.”
Leadership, according to JRD meant motivating others.
He once said: «If I have any merit it is getting on with individuals according to their ways and characteristics. In fifty years I have dealt with a hundred top directors and I have got on with all of them. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary. To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection.»
This attitude contrasted sharply with the prevailing management styles of other Indian business leaders. Large Indian companies tend to fall into three categories: public sector ones run by the government, multinational affiliates, and those promoted by family dynasties. While the Tata Group firmly remained a family concern, JRD’s professionalism stood out from the crowd.
Moreover, in most of the family firms, the top management tended to belong to the same community as the promoter family. With the Tatas, it was different: only merit counted.

Tata’s personal interest in technology, combined with India’s isolation in the 1950s and 1960s, spurred several group companies, particularly Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals, to innovate in their fields. At Tata Steel, a Research and Control Laboratory had been opened in 1937, and its researchers developed an extensive variety of special steels for applications as varied as parachute harnesses and razor blades.
The lab also developed a high-tensile alloy steel which made it possible for the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta to be built entirely from Indian materials. Another corrosion resistant, low-alloy high-yield strength steel was used for the manufacture of all-metal steel coaches on the Indian railways.
According to JRD, quality had to match innovation. He intensely disliked the laid-back Indian attitude, and much of his fabled short temper was triggered by the carelessness of others. He stressed: «If you want excellence, you must aim at perfection. I know that aiming at perfection has its drawbacks. It makes you go into detail that you can avoid. It takes a lot of energy out of you but that’s the only way you finally actually achieve excellence. So in that sense, being finicky is essential. A company, which uses the name Tata, shares a tradition. The symbol ‘T’ has to be a symbol of quality.»

According to Tata, the crux of any successful labour policy lay in making workers feel wanted. One of the inherent drawbacks of modern industry with its large and concentrated labour forces was that each man felt «that instead of being a valued member of a friendly and human organisation, he was a mere cog in a soulless machine». And «because of this, a worker’s attitude towards management becomes one of indifference, mistrust and coldness often tinged with hostility. He is easily led to feeling himself the victim of callous and unfair treatment and little is needed to make him look upon his employers as his enemies and break out into open conflict.»
Tata Steel became one of the earliest companies in India to have a dedicated human resources department. Tata Steel pioneered the eight-hour day in 1912, long before the principle had been accepted in the United States or Europe (Britain introduced the twelve-hour day in 1911).
Tata Steel introduced leave with pay in 1920, and in India this was established by law in 1945. Tata Steel set up a provident fund in 1920, which was not legalised until 1952.

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata died in Geneva on November 29, 1993. Few addressed him using his full name, with which he was born; he was simply ‘JRD’ to the world, and ‘Jeh’ to his friends. nd, among his friends, Satprem and Sujata occupied always a very special place. JRD was India’s most well known industrialist, widely respected for his enormous contribution to the development of Indian industry and aviation in particular.
Tata headed India’s largest industrial conglomerate with uncommon success. But this was only one aspect of his life. He was also a man of great sensitivity and was pained by the poverty he saw around him and sought vigorously to alleviate it.
He also much wanted India to be a happy country and did all he could to make it so; a patron of the sciences and the arts; and a man with a passion for literature, fast cars, skiing, and flying.



		J.R.D. TATA Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904 - November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. He was one of the few people who were awarded Bharat Ratna during their life time. Born in Paris, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the second child of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife Suzanne Briere. Established in 1859, the Tata Group was already India’s biggest business conglomerate when Tata became its fourth chairman in 1938. He was then just 34 years old. Under his leadership, the Tata group grew enormously, making it India’s biggest business group. During the last half of the twentieth century Tata entered several new businesses, many of them unconventional, and produced a vast range of products — from airlines to hotels, trucks to locomotives, soda ash and other heavy chemicals to pharmaceuticals and financial services, tea and air conditioning to lipsticks and cologne. As an industrialist, JRD Tata is credited with placing the Tata Group on the international map. As an aviator and pioneer flier, he brought commercial aviation to India. As a patron of the arts, he was revered by India’s artists, sculptors and performing artists; under JRD’s tutelage, the Tatas became the biggest buyers, promoters and supporters of the art world in India. And as a philanthropist, he was respected for keeping alive and building up the tremendously active Tata charitable trusts. His achievements have to be seen through the lens of India’s economic and political history. Under British colonial rule until 1947, India was strait-jacketed by a foreign exchange crunch for almost forty years after independence, which gravely limited industrial entrepreneurship. From 1964 to 1991 severe government controls on big business further curbed the growth of the Tata Group. Analysing his own performance, JRD Tata insisted that his only real contribution to the group of companies was Air-India. For the rest, he generously gave credit to his executives. Yet, it would be a mistake to under-assess JRD’s role. As one of the senior Tata executives, Darbari Seth, once said, “Mr. Tata was able to harness a team of individualistic executives, capitalizing upon their strengths, downplaying their differences and deficiencies; all by the sheer weight of his leadership.” Leadership, according to JRD meant motivating others. He once said: «If I have any merit it is getting on with individuals according to their ways and characteristics. In fifty years I have dealt with a hundred top directors and I have got on with all of them. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary. To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection.» This attitude contrasted sharply with the prevailing management styles of other Indian business leaders. Large Indian companies tend to fall into three categories: public sector ones run by the government, multinational affiliates, and those promoted by family dynasties. While the Tata Group firmly remained a family concern, JRD’s professionalism stood out from the crowd. Moreover, in most of the family firms, the top management tended to belong to the same community as the promoter family. With the Tatas, it was different: only merit counted. Tata’s personal interest in technology, combined with India’s isolation in the 1950s and 1960s, spurred several group companies, particularly Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals, to innovate in their fields. At Tata Steel, a Research and Control Laboratory had been opened in 1937, and its researchers developed an extensive variety of special steels for applications as varied as parachute harnesses and razor blades. The lab also developed a high-tensile alloy steel which made it possible for the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta to be built entirely from Indian materials. Another corrosion resistant, low-alloy high-yield strength steel was used for the manufacture of all-metal steel coaches on the Indian railways. According to JRD, quality had to match innovation. He intensely disliked the laid-back Indian attitude, and much of his fabled short temper was triggered by the carelessness of others. He stressed: «If you want excellence, you must aim at perfection. I know that aiming at perfection has its drawbacks. It makes you go into detail that you can avoid. It takes a lot of energy out of you but that’s the only way you finally actually achieve excellence. So in that sense, being finicky is essential. A company, which uses the name Tata, shares a tradition. The symbol ‘T’ has to be a symbol of quality.» According to Tata, the crux of any successful labour policy lay in making workers feel wanted. One of the inherent drawbacks of modern industry with its large and concentrated labour forces was that each man felt «that instead of being a valued member of a friendly and human organisation, he was a mere cog in a soulless machine». And «because of this, a worker’s attitude towards management becomes one of indifference, mistrust and coldness often tinged with hostility. He is easily led to feeling himself the victim of callous and unfair treatment and little is needed to make him look upon his employers as his enemies and break out into open conflict.» Tata Steel became one of the earliest companies in India to have a dedicated human resources department. Tata Steel pioneered the eight-hour day in 1912, long before the principle had been accepted in the United States or Europe (Britain introduced the twelve-hour day in 1911). Tata Steel introduced leave with pay in 1920, and in India this was established by law in 1945. Tata Steel set up a provident fund in 1920, which was not legalised until 1952. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata died in Geneva on November 29, 1993. Few addressed him using his full name, with which he was born; he was simply ‘JRD’ to the world, and ‘Jeh’ to his friends. nd, among his friends, Satprem and Sujata occupied always a very special place. JRD was India’s most well known industrialist, widely respected for his enormous contribution to the development of Indian industry and aviation in particular. Tata headed India’s largest industrial conglomerate with uncommon success. But this was only one aspect of his life. He was also a man of great sensitivity and was pained by the poverty he saw around him and sought vigorously to alleviate it. He also much wanted India to be a happy country and did all he could to make it so; a patron of the sciences and the arts; and a man with a passion for literature, fast cars, skiing, and flying.