Tata’s legacy was like this at the time of independence
The largest business group in India is the Tata Group. This group has been working in the country since before independence. So, when the country became independent in 1947, on the one hand it inherited the horrors of partition and the sting of poverty, and on the other hand it also inherited many of those strengths from the legacy of the Tata Group, which not only ran a new country like India, but also today laid the foundation for it to become the fifth economic superpower in the world.
Even before gaining independence on August 15, 1947, Tata Group had been active in many of these sectors in the country, giving the newly emerging India courage to make its mark in the world struggling in the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. Its legacy also made it easier for the country’s first prime minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, to take tough economic decisions.
Tata’s legacy at the time of independence
Before the country became independent, Tata Group had already gifted it a luxury brand like the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. After independence, this brand played a major role in increasing the tourism in the country. Apart from this, the country had a large steel company like Tata Steel before independence. After independence, Prime Minister Nehru’s thinking was as much involved in the formation of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) as it was in the already presence of Tata Steel in the country.
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Talking about Tata’s legacy, before independence, Tata Power had demonstrated how the country could generate its own electricity. Apart from this, Tata Group had also formed companies like Tata Engineering and Locomotive (now Tata Motors) that makes railway engines, Tata Chemicals (which makes Tata Salt) and Tata Oil Mills (which makes Hammam soap).
Tata Airlines became Air India
JRD Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group, was the first person in the country to hold a pilot’s license. He founded Tata Airlines in 1939. After the country’s independence, India did not even have its own airlines. Tata Airlines was then nationalized and made the country’s official airline. This was Air India, which had returned to the Tata Group only a few years ago.
Tata also gave a lot to society.
Tata Group’s legacy is not just business. Before independence, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science, the Tata Memorial Hospital and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research were established. These institutions served as the foundation for engineering colleges, IITs and organisations like ISRO in India. Today, thanks to them, India is not only the world’s largest economic power, but also an educational powerhouse.
Birla-Bajaj-Mahindra also supported
Even before independence, Tata Group laid the foundation for turning the country into an economic superpower, but during the same period it also gained the support of many other big companies. This includes Birla, Godrej, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Group.