Ratan Tata Mourned In US, Accolades Pour In From Across India

Photo: Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India pays his respect to Ratan Tata, in Mumbai on October 10. Photo: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

MUMBAI, (REUTERS) – “India and the world have lost a giant with a giant heart,” U.S. ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said.

“He … was instrumental in mentoring and developing the modern business leadership in India. He deeply cared about making India better,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said.

“We will remember his legacy of transformative giving to Cornell,” his alma mater Cornell University said on X, naming their most generous international donor.

Tributes poured in from around the world, underlining his popularity that transcended boundaries and generations.

In India, hundreds of people, including the who’s who of corporate leaders, politicians and celebrities along with employees, and the general public, gathered in Mumbai on October 10 to pay their last respects to one of India’s most respected business tycoons, Ratan Tata, who died aged 86.

Known for his exemplary business acumen and philanthropic nature, as chairman he led various companies under the Tata conglomerate for more than 20 years, which had revenue of $165 billion in 2023-24.

Although in recent years Tata was not as active in the day-to-day running of the group, he was consulted on big decisions by the Tata Sons leadership, a senior company executive said.

Tata had been in a Mumbai hospital since the start of the week, but the cause of his death was not immediately made public.

Draped in the Indian national flag, Ratan Tata’s body was kept at a cultural center in Mumbai, and his funeral will be conducted later in the day with full state honors.

India’s central bank governor Shaktikanta Das, Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla were among early visitors to pay their last respects to the Padma Vibhushan awardee – India’s second-highest civilian honor.

A licensed pilot who would occasionally fly the company plane, Tata never married and was known for his quiet demeanor, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work.