Not for nothing is Tata Group often referred to as the salt-to-software conglomerate. It is likely that the clothes you wear, the watch that adorns your wrist, the coffee you drink, and even the car you drive to office are made by a Tata Group firm. Most of us are familiar with the Tata company’s history that goes all the way back to its establishment by the legendary Jamshedji Tata way back in 1868. In this blog post, we try to trace the evolution of the group into the sprawling conglomerate that it is today.
Tata Group at a glance
We have chronicled the history of the Tata Group below.
| Name | Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. (Holding company of the Tata group) |
| Foundation Year | 1868 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Founder of Tata Group | Jamshedji Tata |
| Chairman | Natarajan Chandrasekaran |
| Global Footprint | Present in more than 100 countries across six continents |
| No of Employees | 1,028,000 (FY 2024) |
| Revenue | US$165 billion (FY 2024) |
| Board of Directors | Noel Tata – Executive ChairmanN Chandrasekaran – ChairmanVenu Srinivasan – Non-Executive DirectorAjay Piramal – Independent DirectorHarish Manwani–Independent DirectorVijay Singh- Non-Executive DirectorLeo Puri – Independent DirectorAnita Marangoly George – Independent DirectorRalf Speth–Non-Executive DirectorSaurabh Agarwal – Executive Director |
Tata Company history
The history of Tata Company is one marked by glory and pride. In 1868, Jamshedji Tata started the glorious journey as the Tata Company owner. It began life as a small trading corporation, but soon expanded to provide a wide range of services including steel, automobiles, IT services, hospitality and many more. Let us begin with a brief timeline of Tata company history.
Timeline of Tata History
- 1868- Jamshedji Tata started the Tata Company Limited as a trading business
- 1874- Jamshedji set up a textile mill in Nagpur
- 1892- Jamshedji created the JN Tata Endowment Fund to help Indian students studying abroad
- 1903- Inauguration of The Taj Hotel
- 1904- Sir Dorabji Tata took over the responsibility as a chairman after the death of Jamshedji Tata
- 1907- Tata Iron and Steel Company was established by Dorabji Tata
- 1909- The Indian Institute of Science was established
- 1910- Tata Power was established
- 1917- The Group for the first time opened for a wider consumer space with Tata Oil Mills Co. Popular soap brands Moti and Hamam were launched.
- 1929- JRD Tata became the first Indian to acquire a pilot license, fulfilling his childhood dream.
- 1932- ATA Airlines, later known as Air India, started its journey
- 1939- Tata Chemicals started in Mithapur
- 1941- The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust opened Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer treatment
- 1945- Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company was established
- 1952- Lakme, the first cosmetic brand in India, was born. It was later sold to Hindustan Unilever in 1984.
- 1954- Consumer electronics brand Voltas was establishedÂ
- 1962- For the trading of leather products, Tata Exports now known as Tata International started
- 1968- Tata Consultancy Services, India’s first software service company, begins its journey
- 1983- Tata Salt came up with India’s first iodised salt
- 1984- Titan launches its range of affordable watches
- 1991- JRD Tata started Tata Central Archives. Ratan Tata succeeded JRD as ChairmanÂ
- 1994- Tanishq brand of jewelry stores opened
- 1998- TELCO, now TATA Motors, launched Tata Safari and Tata Indica
- 2000- Tata Tea acquired the 160-year-old British Tea brand Tetley Tea
- 2004- Tata Motors acquired South Korea’s Daewoo Motors
- 2006- Tata Sky marked Tata Group’s first step in the entertainment industry
- 2007- Croma began life as India’s first multi-brand outlet
- 2008- The middle-class-oriented car Tata Nano launched
- 2011- Tata Medical Center was inaugurated
- 2014- AirAsia airline, a joint venture of Tata Group and AirAsia began operations
- 2017- N. Chandrasekaran appointed Chairman of Tata SonsÂ
- 2018- TCS becomes the first Indian IT company to achieve $100 billion in market capitalization
- 2023- Announced plans to build a 40GW battery cell giga factory in the UK for electronic mobility and renewable energy storage
- 2024- Tata Group announces India’s first Indigenous semiconductor test and assembly facility in Assam and the first semiconductor fab in Gujrat
Tata Group’s chief subsidiaries
It is quite clear from the timeline of Tata Company’s history that they have a presence across several sectors of the Indian economy. The chart below will give you a brief overview of the Group’s subsidiary firms.
| S. No. | Tata Group Company | Industry |
| 1. | Nelco Limited | Electronics |
| 2. | Tata Chemicals Limited | Chemicals |
| 3. | Tata Communications Limited | Telecommunications |
| 4. | Tata Consultancy Services | Information Technology |
| 5. | Tata Consumer Products Ltd | FMCG |
| 6. | Tata Elxsi Limited | Digital Technology and Design |
| 7. | Tata Investment Corporation Limited | Non-banking financial company |
| 8. | Tata Metaliks Limited | Manufacturing |
| 9. | Tata Motors Limited | Automobiles |
| 10. | Tata Steel Limited | Steel |
| 11. | The Indian Hotels Company Limited | Hospitality |
| 12. | Tata Power Company Limited | Power |
| 13. | Titan Company Limited | Watches and jewelry |
| 14. | Voltas Limited | Home Appliances and Consumer Electronics |
Tata Group subsidiaries: An overview
Now, let us discuss more about Tata Company information through a brief overview of its subsidiaries.
Nelco Limited
NELCO Limited (Formerly known as National Radio & Electronics Company) was promoted in 1940 by the Investment Corporation of India, inter alia, to manufacture broadcasting equipment. The Company had two wholly owned subsidiaries viz. Tatanet Services Ltd. (TNSL) & Nelco Network Products Ltd. (NNPL). The Company is a subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Limited. The Company was engaged in providing end to end networking solutions (Satcom Projects) services, sale/rental of VSATs and maintenance of private hubs and hybrid networks for its customers (Equipment business and related services). TNSL was engaged in the Satellite Communication services (VSAT Bandwidth services) and NNPL did not commence its operations.
Tata Chemicals Limited
Tata Chemicals is a holding company that operates in two business segments: specialty products and basic chemistry products. The basic chemistry products segment manufactures inorganic chemistry products and serves industries such as detergents, glass, bakeries, pharma, and biscuit manufacturing. On the other hand, speciality products segment deals with food ingredients such as the formulations of prebiotics, formula feed, and speciality silica, rubber, etc.
Tata Communications Limited
Tata Communications Limited (Formerly known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) was incorporated on 19 March, 1986. The Company changed its name from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited to Tata Communications Limited on 28 January 2008. The Company is a leading provider of a new world of communications. Presently, it offers international and national voice and data transmission services, selling and leasing of bandwidth on undersea cable systems, internet connectivity services and other value-added services comprising tele presence, managed hosting, mobile global roaming and signalling services, transponder lease, television uplinking and other related services.
Tata Consultancy Services
TCS provides information technology (IT) services and digital and business solutions to their customers. It provides consulting services in banking, manufacturing, insurance, communication, media, technology, and retail. It provides IT solutions in cloud services, business processing, mobility products, etc.
Tata Consumer Products Ltd
Tata Consumer Products Ltd. (formerly Tata Global Beverages Ltd) is the second-largest player in branded tea in the world. Tata Global Beverages focusses on branded natural beverages—tea, coffee, and water. The company directly and through its subsidiaries and joint ventures owns a strong portfolio of brands, including Tata Tea, Tetley, Jemca, Vitax, Eight O’Clock Coffee, Himalayan, Grand Coffee and Joekels. Over 60% of Tata Global Beverages’ consolidated revenue originates from markets outside India and more than 90% of turnover is from branded products.
Tata Elxsi Limited
Tata Elxsi Limited, a part of TATA Group, is a global design and technology services company for product engineering and solutions. The Company is amongst the world’s leading providers of design and technology services across industries including Automotive, Broadcast, Communications, Healthcare, and Transportation. The operations are classified into two business divisions, i.e., Software Development and Services and Systems Integration and Support.
Tata Investment Corporation Limited
Tata Investment Corporation is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) promoted by Tata Sons Private Limited. The Company is registered with the Reserve Bank of India under the category of Investment Company. It is engaged in the business of investment in listed and unlisted equity shares, debt instruments of companies in a wide range of Industries and in mutual funds.
Tata Metaliks Limited
The Tata company history tells us that this company deals with melting, moulding, and core making of iron, and spheroidal graphite iron. It also provides project-based consultations of pollution control, and related testing and training.
Tata Motors Limited
Tata Motors is a global automobile manufacturing company that makes diverse vehicles including cars, trucks, buses, sports utility vehicles, and defence vehicles. It is widely divided into four segments: Tata Commercial Vehicles, Heavy commercial vehicles, CV passenger vehicles, and intermediate light commercial vehicles.
Tata Steel Limited
This company exclusively deals with making steel from raw materials. The firm manufactures hot-rolled and cold-rolled, coated steel coils, tyres, wires, precision tubes, and agricultural and garden tools of steel.
The Indian Hotels Company Limited
The company operates as a holding company providing short-term stays in restaurants and hotels. The hospitality group owns luxury hotels like The Taj, The Gateway, Vivanta, SeleQtions, and Ginger.
The Tata Power Company Limited
This integrated power supply company from the Tata stable deals with electronic products, power generation, transmission and service businesses. The firm deals with generating, renewing, transmission and distribution of energy.
Titan Company Limited
The Tata Group company sells wearable watches, jewellery, eyewear, etc. Watch brands like Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, and Nebula and jewelry brands like CaratLane, Tanishq, Zoya, and Mia and eyewear brans Titan EyePlus are widely acclaimed by customers.
Voltas Limited
This India-based company of Tata Group manufactures air conditioners and cooling products. It mainly engages in manufacturing, selling, and after-sales management of cooling appliances.
Conclusion
The Tata all-company list that shows the remarkable Tata Company history. Built on solid business ethics, the Tata Group has expanded its operations to fast-growing segments such as consumer retail in the recent years, not to mention its overseas acquisitions of UK’s Tetley Tea and Jaguar Land Rover.
