Celebrating JRD Tata’s 115th Birth Anniversary
Born on 29 July 1904, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) went on to redefine the meaning of entrepreneurship in India. Pioneer aviator, numero uno industrialist, institution-builder, philanthropist and manager par excellence, J.R.D. Tata was a nation builder who continues to be a source of inspiration to both young and old. Having placed India on the aviation map of the world with his pioneering flight in 1932, he went on to guide the destiny of his brainchild Air India with the same enthusiasm and eye for perfection which informed his other ventures.
On his 115th birth anniversary today, we’re delighted to announce a book dedicated to the legend, his business acumen and ethics, ‘J.R.D. Tata: Orations On Business Ethics’
J.R.D. Tata has been the benchmark for business leaders globally due to his business acumen, integrity, ethics and social concern. He successfully demonstrated that an organization can be profitable without compromising on ethics and values. He was also the first to implement a host of employee welfare schemes in corporate India, which were later adopted by the Indian government as statutory requirements.
‘J.R.D. Tata: Orations on Business Ethics’ is an insightful and engaging volume that brings forth the views of eminent leaders from different walks of life, including J.R.D. Tata, Ramachandra Guha, Subroto Bagchi, Mark Tully, Tarun Das, Anil Kakodkar, among others. The book analyses how the concept of business ethics has moved well beyond financial integrity to include social and environmental responsibility, and how corporate social responsibility has gone mainstream.
Get the book here.
To delve further into his journey, you can read these books
‘Jeh: A Life Of JRD Tata‘ by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy
As an industrialist, JRD is credited with placing the Tata Group on the international map. Apart from being a businessman par excellence, he was a patron of the sciences and the arts, a philanthropist and yet a man with a passion for literature, fast cars, skiing, and flying. As a philanthropist, he was respected for building and keeping alive the tremendously active Tata charitable trusts and adding some of his own. As a founder of institutions, he played a seminal role in the founding of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the National Centre for the Performing Arts among many others and advocated family planning long before anybody had visualized that population would be a problem.
But it is as an inspirer of men that JRD will always be remembered. With an uncanny knack for selecting the right man for the right job, his greatest achievement lay in his ability to weld a team and get the best out of persons who differed greatly in outlook, character, and ability. Filled with an unmistakable zest for life, his desire to instill and inspire a spirit of initiative and enterprise was always evident and he led those working for and with him, in the only way he knew: with affection.
Get the book here.
‘Letters’ by J.R.D. Tata
Contained in these pages is the correspondence of a man who for the major part of his life was at the helm of affairs of the house of tata, one of the largest industrial groups in India, and has left an indelible impression on the country’s economic & social life.J.R.D. Tata was a prolific letter-writer,and this first-time compilation of some three hundred of his letters reveals various facets of his personality, his relationships with people, the projects he was involved in, his views on issues, his kindness, forthrightness, and sense of humor, his concerns as a citizen, the values he lived by, and his personal interests.
Get the book set here.
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