WHAT INDIA COULD Be
However, India trusted his decision, even in matters of politics: When Tata Motors picked Modi-run Gujarat as the place for a new automobile manufacturer in 2008, it was seen as a sign that the private sector trusted then-controversial Modi above all other main officials. The region followed Tata’s prospect a few years later.
Why not also up his business instincts? India’s interests may be world, not regional. Its businesses may concentrate on the home business rather than just producing goods there.
Whatever his failings, Ratan Tata often benchmarked himself and his team’s goods against the nation’s best. The rest of India does, also.
I was born and raised in Jamshedpur, the charming village that the Tatas built around their enormous metal plant. Ratan Tata was now a larger-than-life find then. Jamshedpur, with its world-class services, its neatness and its efficiency, seemed a portent of what India may be.
The country may not have lived up to that promise yet, but, like Ratan Tata, it should n’t stop believing.