Born: July 29, 1904
Died: on November 29,
1993
Achievements: He had the honor of being India's first pilot; was
Chairman of Tata & Sons for 50 years; launched Air India International as
India's first international airline; received Bharat Ratna in 1992.
JRD
Tata was one of the most enterprising Indian entrepreneurs. He was a pioneer
aviator and built one of the largest industrial houses of India.
JRD Tata
was born on July 29, 1904 in Paris. His mother was a French, while his father
was Parsi. JRD's full name was Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and he was
popularly known as Jeh to his friends. JRD's father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and
Sri Jamsetji Tata shared their greatness from the same great-great-grandfather,
Ervad Jamsheed Tata, a priest of Navsari.
JRD Tata was the second of four
children. He was educated
in France, Japan and England before being drafted into the French army for a
mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his service in the forces but
destiny had something else in store for him. By leaving the French army JRD's
life was saved because shortly thereafter, the regiment in which he served was
totally wiped out during an expedition in Morocco.
JRD Tata joined Tata
& Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. He has great interest in flying. On
February 10, 1929, JRD became the first Indian to pass the pilot's examination.
With this distinctive honor of being India's first pilot, he was instrumental in
giving wings to India by building Tata Airlines, which ultimately became Air
India. His passion for flying was fulfilled with the formation of the Tata
Aviation Service in 1932.
In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected
Chairman of Tata & Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group
in India. He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century
later on July 26, 1988, when he left , Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95
enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling
interest.
JRD was the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its
inception in 1932, which remained under his wings for over half a century. Under
his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata
Memorial Center for Cancer, Research and Treatment, Bombay, 1941. It also
founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1936 (TISS), the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research, 1945 (TIFR), and the National Center for Performing
Arts.
In 1948, JRD Tata launched Air India International as India's first
international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD as Chairman
of Air-India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines-a position JRD
retained for 25-years. For his crowning achievements in Aviation, JRD was
bestowed with the title of Honorary Air Commodore of India.
In 1956, JRD
Tata initiated a program of closer "employee
association with management" to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of
the company. He firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the principles
of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers' provident scheme, and
workmen's accident compensation schemes, which were later, adopted as statutory
requirements in India.
JRD Tata cared greatly for his workers. In 1979,
Tata Steel instituted a new practice; a worker is deemed to be "at work" from
the moment he leaves home for work till he returns home from work. The company
is financially liable to the worker if any mishap takes place on the way to and
from work. Tata Steel Township was also selected as a UN Global Compact City
because of the quality of life, conditions of sanitation, roads and welfare that
were offered by Tata Steel.
JRD Tata received a number of awards. He
received the Padma Vibhushan in 1957 on the eve of silver jubilee of Air India.
He also received the Guggenheim Medal for aviation in 1988. In 1992, because of
his selfless humanitarian endeavors, JRD Tata was awarded India's highest
civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna-one of the rarest instances in which this award
was granted during a person's lifetime. In the same year, JRD Tata was also
bestowed with the United Nations Population Award for his crusading endeavors
towards initiating and successfully implementing the family planning movement in
India, much before it became an official government policy.
JRD Tata died
in Geneva, Switzerland on November 29, 1993 at the age of 89. On his death, the
Indian Parliament was adjourned in his memory-an honor not usually given to
persons who are not Members of Parliament.
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