SAN FRANCISCO: 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.
“It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr. Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation,” the company said.
Ratan Tata “was a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media platform X. “Extremely pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers in this sad hour.”
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 when his uncle J.R.D. 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 ushered in an era of high growth.
In one of his first steps, Ratan Tata sought to rein in the power of some heads of Tata Group’s companies, enforcing retirement ages, promoting younger people to senior positions and ramping up control over companies.
He founded telecommunications firm Tata Teleservices in 1996 and took IT firm Tata Consultancy Services. the group’s cash cow, public in 2004. But to grow properly, the group determined it needed to look beyond Indian shores.
It “was the quest for growth and changing the ground rules to say that we could grow by acquisitions which earlier we had never done,” he said in an interview with the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2013.
The group 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 Tata Motors included the Indica — the first car model designed and built in India — as well as the Nano, touted as the world’s cheapest car. He contributed initial sketches for both models.
The Indica was a commercial success. The Nano, however, priced at just 100,000 rupees (about $1,200) and the culmination of Ratan Tata’s dream to produce an affordable car for India’s masses, was hurt by initial safety issues and bungled marketing. 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 demeanor, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work.
About two-thirds of share capital of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company, is held by philanthropic trusts.
His leadership at Tata was not without controversy — most notably a bitter public 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 center 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 Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honor, in 2008 for exceptional and distinguished service in trade and industry.
($1 = 83.9330 Indian rupees)
Ratan Tata, who put India’s Tata Group on the global map, dies at 86
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Ratan Tata, who put India’s Tata Group on the global map, dies at 86
- Tata transformed his family’s business conglomerate, the Tata Group, into a multinational corporation
- Tata Group put an indelible stamp on Indian life while acquiring British brand names like Tetley Tea and Jaguar
Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats
- The celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911
- Taiwan was run under martial law until transitioning to full democracy in the 1980s and 1990s
The celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and fled to Taiwan as Mao Zedong’s Communists swept to power on the mainland during a civil war in 1949. Taiwan was run under martial law until transitioning to full democracy in the 1980s and 1990s but maintains the original constitution brought from China and the ROC flag.
President Lai Ching-te took office in May, continuing the eight-year rule of the Democratic Progressive Party that rejects China’s demand that it recognize Taiwan is a part of China. The Nationalists adhere to a unification stance that recognizes both sides of the Taiwan Strait as a single nation.
In a speech marking the holiday, Lai spoke of Taiwan’s technology achievements such as those driving the computer chips industry, calling it a “global force for prosperity and development.” He also praised athletes such as boxer Lin Yu-ting, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, and young people who have won prizes in international technical competitions.
Thursday’s commemorations included military displays, but no heavy military equipment as seen in years past. And it included performances with music and flag and athletic feats like flips and other stunts.
Addressing the threat from China, Lai took a firm but measured line while offering cooperation on areas from fighting infectious diseases to maintaining “regional peace and stability.”
“We hope that China will live up to the expectations of the international community, that it will apply its influence and work with other countries toward ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and end conflicts in the Middle East,” Lai said.
“And we hope that (China) will take up its international responsibilities and, along with Taiwan, contribute to the peace, security and prosperity of the region and the globe,” the president said.
Maintaining its military pressure on Taiwan, China’s People’s Liberation Army sent 15 planes across the median line in the Taiwan Strait, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, dispatch ships and activate missile systems.
In response to such threats, Taiwan has ordered billions of dollars in fighter jets, tanks, missiles and various upgrades to existing gear from the US, while revitalizing its own defense industry with the production of submarines and other equipment aimed at deterring or fending off a Chinese attack.
At the same time, Taiwan faces economic threats from China ranging from a possible blockade of the trade-dependent island to an undermining of its financial system. China routinely states that Taiwan independence is a “dead end” and that annexation by Beijing is a historical inevitability.
Lai appeared to address such issues in his address, saying: “Finally, we must strengthen resilience throughout Taiwan in national defense, economic livelihoods, disaster prevention and democracy.”
New UK government closes in on major employment reform
- Since winning power in early July, Labour has acted swiftly to end drawn-out strikes by public- and private-sector workers over pay
LONDON: Britain’s new Labour government will on Thursday take a key step toward delivering major reforms to workers’ rights when it presents its employment bill to parliament, pitting unions against businesses.
Almost 100 days since Keir Starmer became prime minister following his Labour party’s landslide general election win, Britain gets to see the fine detail of the government’s proposed shakeup to employment legislation.
The bill contains key pre-election pledges, including a ban on zero-hours contracts, improvements to sick and maternity pay, and measures aimed at making it harder for employers to sack staff.
“The government will deliver on our promise to the British people of the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation,” Starmer told parliament Wednesday.
Since winning power in early July, Labour has acted swiftly to end drawn-out strikes by public- and private-sector workers over pay — notably among doctors in Britain’s free National Health Service (NHS).
“The Employment Rights Bill will ensure work pays, it’ll forge a new partnership with business, and reset the dreadful industrial relations that have cost our economy and our NHS so much in recent years,” Starmer added Wednesday.
Paul Nowak, leader of British umbrella organization the Trades Union Congress, said a fully delivered bill “will make work better for millions of working people.”
He added on the eve of the paper’s unveiling: “Increasing job security is good for workers and business. Treating staff well boosts productivity and living standards.”
But the main opposition Conservatives have warned the proposals amount to business-constricting “French-style union laws.”
Tina McKenzie, whose organization represents millions of UK businesses, warned that “adding to the risks and costs associated with employing people would make small employers think twice about whether and who to hire.”
“Done wrongly, this bill could damage growth, wages and jobs,” added McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses.
The bill’s publication comes ahead of Labour’s maiden budget on October 30, when finance minister Rachel Reeves is widely expected to announce tax rises.
Labour says tough measures are needed and claims that the Tories left it with a financial hole totaling £22 billion ($29 billion).
Former US president Barack Obama hits campaign trail for Kamala Harris
- America’s first Black president is hitting the campaign trail in the steel city of Pittsburgh
- Obama’s trip to Pennsylvania is the first stop in what will be a month of campaigning for Harris
WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama will bring his star power to Kamala Harris’s election campaign Thursday in a bid to get out the vote in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.
America’s first Black president is hitting the campaign trail in the steel city of Pittsburgh a day after Harris’s Republican rival Donald Trump charged through the must-win state.
The still hugely influential Democrat will be urging people to vote early in person or by mail as Harris looks to lock in as many votes as she can in a nail-biting race.
Trump rallied on Wednesday in President Joe Biden’s childhood hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania and will head on Thursday to the auto industry capital of Detroit in Michigan, another battleground.
Wooing blue-collar voters in the former coal mining town of Scranton, Trump vowed to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and assailed Harris on the economy.
Harris will head to yet another swing state, Nevada, to reach out to Latino voters but the White House said she would be kept informed throughout the day about Hurricane Milton.
The monster hurricane crashed into Florida late Wednesday with Biden warning that it could be the “storm of the century.”
Obama’s trip to Pennsylvania is the first stop in what will be a month of campaigning for Harris in the seven swing states where the 2024 election is likely to be decided.
The White House race remains neck-and-neck between Harris and Trump both nationally and in the battleground states, including Pennsylvania.
Harris’s campaign is counting on Obama, 63, who was president from 2009 to January 2017, to mobilize Black and young voters as she seeks the edge on November 5.
But Obama’s main message on Thursday will be to drive home the early voting message in an agonizingly close race.
Democrats have historically favored early voting over Republicans.
Trump has meanwhile frequently lashed out against anything except on-the-day voting, repeatedly blaming mail-in ballots for his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, which he still refused to accept.
The Republican himself has also sometimes called early voting into question, despite efforts by his campaign to promote it.
“President Obama believes the stakes of this election could not be more consequential and that is why he is doing everything he can to help elect Vice President Harris,” Obama’s senior adviser Eric Schultz said in a statement.
Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama delivered rapturously received speeches backing Harris at the Democratic National Convention in his hometown of Chicago in August.
He portrayed Harris — America’s first woman, Black and South Asian vice president — as the political heir to his own trailblazing path.
Obama led the crowd in chants of “Yes she can” — a riff on the “Yes he can” chants from his own 2008 campaign — but warned that 2024 would “still be a tight race in a closely divided country.”
The ex-president has also pulled in more than $76 million for the Democratic ticket in this year’s presidential race.
The ex-president endorsed Harris, 59, after Biden dramatically dropped out of the White House race in July.
Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Li met the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at their gathering in Laos after a day of discussions dominated by the Myanmar civil war
VIENTIANE: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos challenged Chinese Premier Li Qiang over recent clashes in the South China Sea at regional summit talks on Thursday, as fears grow that conflict could erupt in the disputed waterway.
Li met the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at their gathering in Laos after a day of discussions dominated by the Myanmar civil war.
Recent months have seen a spate of violent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in waters around disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea.
Marcos raised the issue in the meeting with Li, arguing that “you cannot separate economic cooperation from political security,” a Southeast Asian diplomat who attended the meeting told reporters.
The Li summit was largely focused on trade, and came the same day the premier met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said Beijing has agreed to lift sanctions on the lucrative lobster industry.
But Marcos told the meeting that ASEAN and China cannot pretend that all is well on the economic front when there are tensions on the political front, the Southeast Asian diplomat said.
Marcos also said that both sides should hasten talks on a code of conduct in the sea.
On Wednesday, ASEAN leaders repeated longstanding calls for restraint and respect for international law in the South China Sea, according to a draft summit chairman’s statement seen by AFP.
The growing frequency and intensity of clashes in the disputed waterway are fueling fears that the situation could escalate.
“The South China Sea is a live and immediate issue, with real risks of an accident spiralling into conflict,” Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told his fellow leaders in Wednesday’s summit.
Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, a waterway of immense strategic importance through which trillions of dollars in trade transits every year.
But several ASEAN members — the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei — also have competing claims to various small islands and reefs.
The meeting with Li comes after a slew of violent clashes, particularly with the Philippines around the Spratly Islands.
Chinese coast guard and other vessels have rammed, water-cannoned and blocked Philippine government vessels.
And earlier this month, Vietnam issued an angry condemnation after some of its fishermen were attacked and robbed off the Paracel Islands by what it called “Chinese law enforcement forces.”
Beijing responded that the islands are its sovereign territory and its personnel were taking action to stop “illegal fishing” by the Vietnamese.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Thursday and is expected to raise the South China Sea when he holds talks with ASEAN leaders on Friday.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia, accused China of taking “escalatory and irresponsible steps designed to coerce and pressure many in the South China Sea.”
China has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas of the South China Sea, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.
It has built artificial islands armed with missile systems and runways for fighter jets, and deployed vessels that the Philippines says harass its ships and block its fishers.
ASEAN leaders also met Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea on Thursday, and will hold a three-way summit with them and Li.
French government to present 2025 belt-tightening budget
- Budget squeeze aims to cut deficit to 5 percent of GDP next year
- Concessions likely to get budget through divided parliament
PARIS: France’s government is to deliver its 2025 budget on Thursday with plans for 60 billion euros ($65.68 billion) worth of tax hikes and spending cuts to tackle a spiralling fiscal deficit.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s new government is under increasing pressure from financial markets and France’s European Union partners to take action after tax revenues fell far short of expectations this year and spending exceeded them.
But the budget squeeze, equivalent to two points of national output, has to be carefully calibrated to placate opposition parties, who could not only veto the budget bill but also band together and topple the government with a no-confidence motion.
Lacking a majority by a sizeable margin, Barnier and his allies in President Emmanuel Macron’s camp will have little choice but to accept numerous concessions to get the budget bill passed, which is unlikely before mid to late December.
The far-right National Rally, whose tacit support Barnier needs to survive any no-confidence motion, has already helped derail a government proposal to postpone a pension increase by six months to save 4 billion euros.
Members of Macron’s party are also loathe to see the president’s legacy of tax-cutting go up in smoke, with his former prime minister Gabriel Attal saying on Wednesday: “The budget is light on reforms and too heavy on taxes.”
Barnier has said he will spare the middle class and instead target big companies with a temporary surtax and people earning over half a million euros per year.
All taxpayers will nonetheless be hit by plans to restore a levy on electricity consumption to where it was before an emergency reduction during the 2022-2023 energy price crisis.
The government has said the budget bill will reduce the public deficit to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year from 6.1 percent this year — higher than almost all other European countries — as a first step toward bringing the shortfall into line with an EU limit of 3 percent in 2029.
While tax hikes will make up one third of the 60 billion euro budget squeeze, the rest will come from spending cuts, with 20 billion cutting across France’s ministries and the rest hitting separate spending on welfare, health, pension and local government budgets.
France’s borrowing costs surged after Macron called a snap parliamentary election and his centrist party then lost to a left-wing alliance. Financial markets are likely to pay close attention to whether the budget can get through parliament without being watered down too much.
The budget will also face scrutiny from the European Commission, which has subjected France to an excessive deficit procedure for falling foul of the EU’s fiscal rules.
