India has got a new spirit: India Inc. Excl. Interview with Ratan Tata

India has got a new spirit: India Inc. Excl. Interview with Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata is one of India's best known industrialists who, during his tenure as Chairman of the Tata Group conglomerate, has been the architect of some of its most high-profile acquisitions. His biggest bet was on British luxury car brands Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which he acquired from Ford in 2008 as a loss-making enterprise to help it race ahead under the Tata banner.

The Emeritus Chairman of the group may have handed over the reins of the $103-billion global giant to Cyrus Mistry (pictured) but his entrepreneurial fervour is far from retired. In recent months, he has invested in at least five e-commerce start-ups in India - CarDekho, Urban Ladder, Bluestone and most recently Paytm. India Inc. caught up with the doyen of Indian industry to probe into his interest in this sector, his views on the Narendra Modi led government's Make In India drive and the success of JLR during his visit to the UK to lay the foundations for a new £1.5-million innovation centre in Europe. What are your views on the Make In India campaign It is still very early days; the sentiment is very high which is good. India has got a new spirit. I think it′s been a long time since the leadership in India has made such a bold statement. What is the strategy behind your series of e-commerce investments India is a big country with a tremendous appetite for computer-based or Internet-based services. It is a nascent industry and I have chosen to support it. What are the key reasons behind the Tata Group's support for a new innovation hub in Europe The National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) on the Warwick University campus was something Prof. Bhattacharya (chairman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group - pictured) had authored as it were. I share with him the great aspiration for the technological front in the UK. I thought there was no talent or capability in the UK until he forced me on a visit. I was wide-eyed with the talent that exists here. Ever since, I have been a great supporter of bringing manufacturing back to the UK. If that had not happened, I probably would not have been attracted to Jaguar Land Rover. Making an investment in the UK would have been a much more arduous decision. How would you rate the progress of JLR under the Tata Group I am very proud, and very appreciative of all the people at JLR, the leadership that Dr Ralf Speth (JLR CEO - pictured) has provided and the spirit of the work force who worked shoulder to shoulder to bring the two venerable brands back to their original glory. That spirit is key and there is a great sense of pride in what the company is doing. All we did was provided funds because Europe and the UK were in the throes of a recession and a downturn; we had the faith to say that we could work together to rebuild the glory of the brands that we had acquired. The people who did it were the people of JLR. It proves that the capability is here to be used and to be developed. The future is quite bright. We shouldn′t run before we can walk. We should grow with moderation but at the same time we shouldn′t let markets go without addressing them. What are the expansion plans for JLR in India We are assembling Jaguars and Range Rovers in India and as the Indian market grows, JLR will do more in India. Any company will make investments where that investment is viable and the marketplace is right. Future plants will be based on the viability of the market. There are states in the US and countries in Eastern Europe providing incentives to attract investments. That could prove a very important job generator.

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