Ratan Tata’s mark on Bengaluru tech and business landscape

Bengaluru used to be among the favourite destinations of Ratan Naval Tata, veteran industrialist, philanthropist, and former Tata Group chairman, who passed away at 86 on Wednesday.

One of his last visits to the city was in early February of 2016, as chairman of Tata Trust, to attend the opening of Invest Karnataka-2016 at Palace Grounds, where he shared stage with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, then Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, and Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd.

In his address, Mr. Tata said Karnataka remained a centre of advanced technologies, spanning sectors like aviation, IT, biotechnology, and electronics.

At the start

The city’s maiden tech park, International Technology Park (ITPL) that came up in 1998 at Whitefield, was a joint venture between the Tatas and a Singapore consortium.

‘’Though built beautifully with global specifications, it was surprisingly empty with no takers. The State government’s apathy meant that the roads were not done, and common amenities leading to the park were never taken up. Obviously, Ratan Tata was not very comfortable as this was one of the major investments of Tata Group during those days,’‘ recalled B.V. Naidu, then director of STPI-Bengaluru who played a key role in developing the tech industry in Karnataka.

BangaloreIT.com, a flagship annual IT event, was launched by the State government in 1998 to showcase ITPL infrastructure and make it more visible to domestic and global investors, said Mr. Naidu, currently chairman, KDEM & Managing Partner StartupXseed, a venture fund.

When the maiden BangaloreIT.com event (which over two decades went through multiple name changes to become Bengaluru Technology Summit now) was inaugurated, Ratan Tata was critical of the State government and was not seen on dias. “However, just a moment before the programme began, he walked in, unaccompanied, and sat on a chair below the dais,’‘ reminisced Mr. Naidu.

Human side

Recalling the human side of the departed industrialist, Geetanjali Kirloskar, MD, Kirloskar Systems Ltd., remembered him as a man who did not have “a grain of arrogance after all the success he had achieved.”

‘’After my daughter’s marriage (Manasi Kirloskar is married to Neville Tata, son of Noel Tata, who is the half-brother of Ratan Tata), I could meet him more often. When he came to our house in Bengaluru before my daughter’s wedding, he spent time with our three dogs, petting them and chatting with them just as he interacted with our family and guests,’‘ Ms. Kirloskar remembered.

Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “As a global corporate luminary, Ratan Tata will forever be remembered for his transformative contribution towards modernisation of the Indian business landscape and deep compassion towards betterment of society.’‘

Tatas in Karnataka

Karnataka has become home to many Tata Group companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Air India, TATA Motors, Tata Elxsi, Titan Company, Tanishq to name a few.

Recently, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Air India Signed an MoU for an investment of ₹2,300 crore in Karnataka.

According to the Industries Department, Karnataka, Tata has a manufacturing facility in Dharwad for Marcopolo buses. The plant, spread over about 123 acres, has a capacity to produce 30,000 units a year.

Also, Tata Power Solar (TPS), has been operating a 10 MW solar power plant in Chitradurga, since 2013. The project, Karnataka’s largest solar project, supplies clean energy to power 70,000 households.