There are plenty of engineering and technology big-wigs who could lead the Indian Corporate Sector into the Indian Defense Sector, but none like the Tata Group. Mahindra & Mahindra is being mentioned along with the Tatas but it does not have have the depth and breadth to lead the industry into uncharted waters. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is yet another contender but is relatively confined. L&T however should partner with Mazagon Dock Limited to develop the infrastructure to build the next generation of Indian Aircraft-Carriers. Besides, Mazagon Dock should be privatized immediately. Coming back to Tatas, the group is already setting up joint ventures with The Boeing Company, EADS (European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company) and IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) to manufacture defense and aerospace products.
There are other Indian companies who have developed specific capabilities to contribute to the Indian defense industry. Baba Kalyani’s Bharat Forge is the second largest forging company in the world. Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing is also a leading engineering company ready to bid for defense production. Suzlon Energy is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in Asia and a prospective defense supplier. Others like Kirloskar Brothers, Hindustan Construction Company, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Essar Group are all waiting in the wings to form alliances with foreign suppliers and become significant players in this multi-billion defense bonanza. India is likely to spend half a trillion dollars in the next 10-15 years on defense related capital goods as well as it’s infrastructure. Amongst them all, The Tata Group is likely to be the biggest beneficiary.
The Tata Group was established by Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata in 1868 by establishing a trading company in Bombay, India. Jamshedji Tata was born in Navsari, Gujarat on March 3, 1839. His father, Nusserwanji Tata was also a businessman in a family of Parsi Zoroastrian (originally from Iran) priests. Nusserwanji moved to Bombay and started a trading company. Jamshedji joined his father at the age of 14 and learnt the art of business for the next 15 years. Jamshedji Tata established a cotton mill in 1869 and called it ‘Alexandra Mill’. Within two years, he sold the cotton mill in Bombay and set up another textile mill in Nagpur on January 1, 1877. He named the cotton mill, ‘The Empress Mills’ after Queen Victoria, the Empress of India. Tata laid the intellectual foundations to establish an iron and steel company, a hydro electric plant and a research institute for fundamental research. His dreams did realize but only after his death on May 19, 1904.
Filed under: Corporate India, Indian Defense Tagged: | Tatas, Tata Group, Iran, Indian Corporate Sector, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Indian Defense Sector, L&T, Mazagon Dock Limited, Indian Aircraft-Carriers, The Boeing Company, EADS, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company, IAI, Israel Aerospace Industries, Baba Kalyani, Bharat Forge, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing, Suzlon Energy, Kirloskar Brothers, Hindustan Construction Company, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries, Essar Group, The Tata Group, Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata, Jamshedji Tata, Navsari Gujarat, March 3rd 1839, Nusserwanji Tata, Parsi Zoroastrian, Nusserwanji, Jamshedji, Alexandra Mill, January 1st 1877, The Empress Mills, Queen Victoria, Empress of India, May 19th 1904
