Aug. 27, 2020 - Tata Steel joined millions across India to celebrate the 161st Birth Anniversary of Sir Dorabji Tata, the second and the second-longest serving Chairman of the $113 billion Tata Group. Among the many notable achievements of Sir Dorabji is his hands-on involvement in laying the foundations for Tata Steel, a Company that has today grown to become one of the largest steel producers not just in India but world-over. Tata Steel, today, paid digital homage to Sir Dorabji Tata on his 161th Birth Anniversary.

Chief Guest, T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, and the Guest of Honour, R Ravi Prasad, President, Tata Workers’ Union along with the special guest Dr J J Irani, Former Managing Director of Tata Steel, paid homage to the legend today morning on the digital platform. The virtual homage ceremony was attended by all employees of Tata Steel.

In his message, T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, said: “The life of leaders like Sir Dorabji Tata assumes greater importance, particularly during the challenging times that we all live in now. Whenever we are faced with challenges as leaders we have to look back at his tenure as Chairman and take inspiration from his learnings of leading a company through a world war, a plague pandemic during a time when he did not have access to the technologies and infrastructure we have today. The sacrifices of our predecessors are a reminder with a message that we will always come out stronger and overcome challenges.”

R Ravi Prasad, President, Tata Workers’ Union, said: “Sir Dorabji undertook the most challenging task of building a steel plant over a 100 years ago when technology, infrastructure was only developing. We are thankful for his visionary spirit and the legacy he has left behind for generations to come. We will always be indebted to his vision and thankful for creating a beautiful city which has all the facilities like schools and hospitals and are proving to be a boon today. I wish to continue to serve and work together along with all the Tata Steel employees to make Sir Dorabji Tata proud.”

Dr. J J Irani, Former Managing Director of Tata Steel, said: "I have always looked upon Sir Dorabji Tata as the implementer, as he had the courage to bring to life the dreams of his father. Jamsetji Tata, the visionary he was, passed on the plans, he envisioned, to his son Sir Dorabji Tata through his letters. Without the efforts and commitment of Sir Dorabji, the city of Jamshedpur and the Tata Steel plant would have never become a reality. We owe our greatest gratitude to Sir Dorabji for infusing life into his father’s dreams. In the last 100 plus years the city has evolved but his work still stands tall through the parks, centres and city monuments."

The celebration of the life of a patriot and nationalist like Sir Dorabji also comes at a time when India is embarking on a national mission to become self-reliant in all walks of life under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan. The work of Sir Dorabji during the early years of the previous century including Tata Steel, Tata Power, and the setting up of the Indian Institute of Science continues to remain the foundation stones of India.

To mark the occasion, various online programmes are being organised from August 25 onwards to ensure maximum participation from employees during these unprecedented times of COVID-19. The online programme “#A Moment to Remember” gave platform to participants to share best moments of two cricket legends of India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina. “Imaging Tomorrow”, a painting competition for children of Tata Steel Kalinganagar executives and a quiz competition titled “Eye on the Ball” were also organised to mark the occasion.  A webinar titled “Meet the Stalwarts of Cricket” was organised to celebrate Sir Dorabji’s contribution in the field of sports. On the occasion, Tata Literature Live launched an exciting new live digital series ‘Tata Literature Live! Sports Yatras’ to bring in eminent sports personalities to share their inspiring success stories and give us a glimpse of their journey to achieve their dreams.

Sir Dorabji Tata was the first Chairman of Tata Steel, who infused the Company with standards in corporate governance that were way ahead of its time. A keen sportsman from his early years, Sir Dorabji Tata was the first President of the Indian Olympic Association and was instrumental in steering India’s entry into the Olympics. On this auspicious day, the Nation remembers him with respect and reverence for his contribution to industry and sports.

Sir Dorabji Tata was acutely aware that every tonne of steel that is made in the company is the hard work of thousands from the mills, collieries, mines, stockyards and offices of Tata Steel. Keeping these in mind, he introduced first-ever initiatives like 8-hour day, maternity leave, provident fund, accident compensation, free medical aid and many more welfare measures, long before they became legal obligations. Thanks to him, Tata Steel remains the industry benchmark of a company whose heart beats for its people.

The legacy of this great visionary will continue to inspire generations of businessmen and entrepreneurs in the future. Tata Steel salutes the courage and conviction of this pioneer and will continue to work towards building a stronger and self-reliant India.