INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(Reuters) - Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string
of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday
He was 86.Tata, who ran the conglomerate for more than 20 years as chairman, had been undergoing intensive care in a Mumbai hospital, two
sources with direct knowledge of his medical situation told Reuters earlier on Wednesday.After graduating with a degree in architecture at
Cornell University, he returned to India and in 1962 began working for the group his great-grandfather had founded nearly a century
earlier.He worked in several Tata companies, including Telco, now Tata Motors Ltd, as well as Tata Steel Ltd, later making his mark by
erasing losses and increasing market share at group unit National Radio & Electronics Company.In 1991, he took the helm of the conglomerate
Tata stepped down - the passing of the baton coming just as India embarked on radical reforms that opened up its economy to the world and
enforcing retirement ages, promoting younger people to senior positions and ramping up control over companies.He founded telecommunications
purchased British tea firm Tetley in 2000 for $432 million and Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007 for $13 billion, at the time the biggest
takeover of a foreign firm by an Indian company
Tata Motors then acquired British luxury auto brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co in 2008 for $2.3 billion.His pet projects at
He contributed initial sketches for both models.The Indica was a commercial success
It was discontinued a decade after its launch.A licensed pilot who would occasionally fly the company plane, Ratan Tata never married and
was known for his quiet demeanour, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work.About two-thirds of share capital of Tata Sons, the
feud after the company ousted Cyrus Mistry, a scion of the billionaire Shapoorji Pallonji clan, as chairman of Tata Sons in 2016.The Tata
Group said Mistry had failed to turnaround poorly performing businesses while Mistry accused Ratan Tata, who was chairman emeritus of the
conglomerate, of interfering and creating an alternate power centre at the group.After he stepped back from the Tata Group, Ratan Tata
became known as a prominent investor in Indian startups, backing a plethora of companies including digital payments firm Paytm, Ola
Electric, a unit of ride hailing firm Ola, and home and beauty services provider Urban Company.Among his many awards, he received the Padma
