Tata Sons Chairman, Mr Ratan Tata, and his successor, Mr Cyrus Mistry, called on the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, here on Thursday.
An official described the meeting as a “courtesy call” by Mr Mistry, who will take charge of the Tata empire when Mr Ratan Tata steps down next year.
Recently, Mr Tata and Mr Mistry had also called on the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, in New Delhi.
These days, Mr Tata is apparently busy introducing his successor to those who matter. Following their meeting with Mr Sharma in the Capital, Gujarat has become the first State where Mr Tata and Mr Mistry have met the Chief Minister.
In October 2008, Mr Modi had sent an SMS to Mr Tata, ‘Welcome to Gujarat,' inviting him to shift the Nano project from West Bengal. Mr Tata acknowledged later that the Gujarat Government had allotted 1,100 acres to Tata Motors in just three days.
During the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit, 2009, Mr Ratan Tata had remarked that “you are stupid if your are not in Gujarat.”
While the Tatas have, over the years, made huge investments in Gujarat in projects such as Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Power, the Mistrys' firm, Shapoorji Pallonji, has also been a leading investor in infrastructure projects. Clearly, both the Tatas and Pallonji see Gujarat as an important investment destination.