In an unusual move, Ratan Tata is said to have informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday about the “change in management”.
If no new successor is found, the 78-year-old may well continue as Chairman of the $100-billion behemoth even after four months.
In 2008, the Tatas faced troublein West Bengal as Mamata Banerjee’s led an agitation against the acquisition of land for Tata Motors’ Singur plant.
Modi, who was then Gujarat Chief Minister, had famously sent Tata an SMS: “Welcome”. And this got the Tatas to Sanand, in Ahmedabad, where they set up their plant.
The Gujarat government then moved at breakneck speed, announced a number of sops for Tata Motors, and allotted nearly 1,100 acres to the company on terms and conditions that still remain officially confidential.
Slice of history Clearly, the Tatas share friendly relations with Modi.
On January 13, 2009, while addressing the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit in Gandhinagar, Tata had remarked: “You are stupid if you are not in Gujarat!”
That probably explains why he told Modi about his own return, even if as an “interim” Chairman.