Jamsetji Tata
Encyclopedia
Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (Gujarati
: જમ્શેત્જી નુંસ્સેર્વાનજી ટાટા; 3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian entrepreneur
and industrialist, prominent for his pioneering work in Indian industry. He was born to a Parsi
family in Navsari
, Gujarat, India
.
He founded what would later become the Tata Group
of companies. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the "father of Indian industry".
, a small town in South Gujarat. Nusserwanji Tata was the first businessman in a family of Parsi Zoroastrian priests. He started trading in bombay.
Jamsetji joined his father in Bombay at the age of 14 and enrolled at the Elphinstone College
. He was married to Hirabai Daboo while he was still a student. He graduated from college in 1858 and joined his father's trading firm. It was a turbulent time to step into business as the Indian Rebellion of 1857
had just been suppressed by the British government.
Jamsetji worked in his father's company until the age of 29. In 1868, he started a trading company with a seed capital of Rs. 21,000. In 1869, he acquired a bankrupt oil mill in Chinchpokli
, converted it into a cotton mill and renamed the mill Alexandra Mill. He sold the mill two years later for a healthy profit. Thereafter he set up a cotton mill in Nagpur
in 1874. He christened it Empress Mill on 1 January 1877 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
He devoted himself to bringing to fruition four of his key ideas: setting up an iron and steel company, a world-class learning institution, a one-of-a-kind hotel and a hydro-electric plant. Only one of the ideas became a reality during his lifetime. The Taj Mahal Hotel was inaugurated on the 3rd of December 1903.
However, the foundations laid by him and hard work by his successors ensured that each of the ideas were eventually established and are respectable entities in their respective fields today:
Among his notable ventures that did bear fruition during his lifetime was the historical Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
in Colaba
district in Mumbai. The hotel was completed for a princely sum of Rs. 4,21,00,000 on 16 December 1903. Taking inflation into account it would cost Rs. 11,475,496,284 (£160,962,295) in 2010 prices.
and Ratanji Tata
, succeeded Jamshetji as the chairman of the Tata group
.
and is today among the largest private sector
firms in the world.
Jamshedpur, also known as Tatanagar, a city in India
n state
of Jharkhand
is named after him. The Tata Group
has many facilities there, viz Tata Steel
, Tata Motors
(manufacturing heavy vehicles) also includes HVAL, HVTL, Telcon
, Tata power, Jusco
, Tata cumins, Trf
(Tata Robins Frazer), Tata bearing, Tayo
, Tata Tubes Division, Tinplate, Tata Agrico, IS&WP, Tata Pigments.
The life of TATA...
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
: જમ્શેત્જી નુંસ્સેર્વાનજી ટાટા; 3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and industrialist, prominent for his pioneering work in Indian industry. He was born to a Parsi
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
family in Navsari
Navsari
Navsari is a city and municipality in the Surat Metropolitan Region and also the administrative headquarters Navsari District of Gujarat, India. Navsari is also the Twin City of Surat, and only 37 km south of Surat.-Geography:...
, Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
He founded what would later become the Tata Group
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
of companies. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the "father of Indian industry".
Early life
Jamsetji Tata was born to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata on 3 March 1839 in NavsariNavsari
Navsari is a city and municipality in the Surat Metropolitan Region and also the administrative headquarters Navsari District of Gujarat, India. Navsari is also the Twin City of Surat, and only 37 km south of Surat.-Geography:...
, a small town in South Gujarat. Nusserwanji Tata was the first businessman in a family of Parsi Zoroastrian priests. He started trading in bombay.
Jamsetji joined his father in Bombay at the age of 14 and enrolled at the Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...
. He was married to Hirabai Daboo while he was still a student. He graduated from college in 1858 and joined his father's trading firm. It was a turbulent time to step into business as the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
had just been suppressed by the British government.
Business
Chinchpokli
Chinchpokli is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on India's Central Railway line. Older British era spellings: Chinchpugli and Chinchpooghly. the name is derived from two different words; chinch means tamarind and pokali means betel nut...
, converted it into a cotton mill and renamed the mill Alexandra Mill. He sold the mill two years later for a healthy profit. Thereafter he set up a cotton mill in Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
in 1874. He christened it Empress Mill on 1 January 1877 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
He devoted himself to bringing to fruition four of his key ideas: setting up an iron and steel company, a world-class learning institution, a one-of-a-kind hotel and a hydro-electric plant. Only one of the ideas became a reality during his lifetime. The Taj Mahal Hotel was inaugurated on the 3rd of December 1903.
However, the foundations laid by him and hard work by his successors ensured that each of the ideas were eventually established and are respectable entities in their respective fields today:
- Tata SteelTata SteelTata Steel is a multinational steel company headquartered in Jamshedpur, India and part of Tata Group. It is the world's seventh-largest steel company, with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes, and the largest private-sector steel company in India measured by domestic production...
(formerly TISCO - Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited) is Asia's first and India's largest and became world's fifth largest steel company,after it acquired anglo-Dutch Corus group producing 28 million tonnes of steel annually.
- The Indian Institute of ScienceIndian Institute of ScienceIndian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
- The Tata Institute of Fundamental ResearchTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchThe Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
was founded by Dr. Homi Bhabha. Dr. Homi Bhabha approached J.R.D Tata requesting his support towards the establishing of a scientific institution. The institution was founded in 1945.
- The Tata PowerTata PowerTata Power is India’s oldest and largest private sector power utility with an installed generation capacity of over 2977 MW.On the 22 March 2011 it has announced partnership with Sunengy an Australian firm, to build India's first floating solar plant....
Company Limited is India's largest private sector electricity generating company with an installed generation capacity of over 2300 MW.
Among his notable ventures that did bear fruition during his lifetime was the historical Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is a five-star hotel located in the Colaba region of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, next to the Gateway of India. Part of the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, this building is considered the flagship property of the group and contains 565 rooms...
in Colaba
Colaba
Colaba is a part of the city of Mumbai, India, and also a Lok Sabha constituency. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Candil...
district in Mumbai. The hotel was completed for a princely sum of Rs. 4,21,00,000 on 16 December 1903. Taking inflation into account it would cost Rs. 11,475,496,284 (£160,962,295) in 2010 prices.
Personal life
Jamshetji Tata married Hirabai Daboo. Their sons, Dorabji TataDorabji Tata
Sir Dorabji Tata , was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, and a key figure in the history and development of the Tata industrial empire...
and Ratanji Tata
Ratanji Tata
Sir Ratan Tata was a Parsi financier and philanthropist.-Biography:He was the son of the noted Parsi merchant Jamsetji Tata. Ratan Tata was educated at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and afterwards entered his father's firm...
, succeeded Jamshetji as the chairman of the Tata group
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
.
Legacy
The company started by Jamsetji Tata came to be known as the Tata GroupTata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
and is today among the largest private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
firms in the world.
Jamshedpur, also known as Tatanagar, a city in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
is named after him. The Tata Group
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
has many facilities there, viz Tata Steel
Tata Steel
Tata Steel is a multinational steel company headquartered in Jamshedpur, India and part of Tata Group. It is the world's seventh-largest steel company, with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes, and the largest private-sector steel company in India measured by domestic production...
, Tata Motors
Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
(manufacturing heavy vehicles) also includes HVAL, HVTL, Telcon
Telcon
In Air Traffic Control a Telcon refers to the routine telephone conferences that take place between Traffic Management Coordinators at different FAA facilities throughout the day...
, Tata power, Jusco
JUSCO
is the acronym for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of ÆON Co., Ltd.....
, Tata cumins, Trf
TRF
TRF may refer to:*The Rugby Forum, an online forum dedicated to Rugby union and Rugby league.*Thief River Falls, Minnesota*Sandefjord Airport, Torp, its IATA airport code, located near Oslo, Norway*Texas Renaissance Festival*Tactical Recognition Flash...
(Tata Robins Frazer), Tata bearing, Tayo
Tayo
Tayo may refer to:* Lyle Tayo , American film actress* Tayo language, a French-based Creole spoken in New CaledoniaPeople with the given name Tayo:* Tayo Adenaike , Nigerian painter...
, Tata Tubes Division, Tinplate, Tata Agrico, IS&WP, Tata Pigments.
Biography
- For the Love of India: The Life and Times of Jamsetji Tata by R M Lala (ISBN 0-670-05782-7)
The life of TATA...