JRD Tata Birth Anniversary: Remembering the doyen of Indian industry

Hyderabad: July 29, 2021 marks the 117 years of Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD Tata) the doyen of Indian industry and the father of Indian aviation. Born in Paris, on July 29, 1904, to Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Suzanne RD Tata, he did his schooling in France and had also served in the French Army for a year, prior to his calling to India. From 1926, following the death of his father, he assumed charge as the Director of Tata Sons at the age of 22 and then as its Chairman for 12 years, till his death in 1993. JRD Tata’s life is hailed as an exalted idea of Indianness. As the leader of India’s largest and most successful industrial group, he thus made an enormous contribution to the development and growth of the nation.