Tata Central Archives (TCA) was launched by JRD Tata in January 1991 and became a division of Tata Services in 1997 
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Tata Central Archives (TCA) was launched by JRD Tata in January 1991 and became a division of Tata Services in 1997
Tata Group brand custodian Harish Bhat took a walk down the memory lane and shared pictures of the Tata Central Archives, an exhibition on the history of the 154-year-old multinational conglomerate in a LinkedIn post. As per his post, the exhibition will remain open from Monday to Friday till December-end this year.
Bhat wrote in his post, “This exhibition weaves together fascinating stories and snippets of history, painting a wide canvas of how the Tata Group has striven to contribute to independent India. Rare documents and photographs are on display. A few pictures below provide you a glimpse.”
He also shared the story about how the Bombay Plan was drafted from the annals of history. Bombay Plan is the moniker of a comprehensive 15-year economic plan proposed by a group of industrialists and technocrats in January 1944. It was also known as the Tata-Birla plan in some circles as it was authored jointly by JRD Tata and GD Birla.
The industrialists and technocrats involved in the drafting of the Bombay Plan include JRD Tata, GD Birla, Ardeshir Dalal, AD Shroff, Lala Shri Ram, Dr John Matthai, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Purushottamdas Thakurdas. The plan was released for private circulation only and caused quite a stir, as per the then Viceroy of India Lord Wavell.
Wavell had said, “A considerable stir has been created by the Rs 10,000 crores economic plan for India.” He also asked, “Another interesting anecdote pertains to what happened when Mahatma Gandhi initially opposed a pre-independence overseas mission of learning by Indian industrialists, including JRD Tata, in 1944. How was this matter eventually resolved, through a superb piece of communication from Gandhiji?”
This, however, is not the first time that Bhat shared a story from Tata Group’s glorious past. Earlier this month, he shared the story behind Tata Steel’s IPO becoming a reality. Bhat said former Tata Group chairman Dorabji Tata, son of Jamsetji Tata, launched a formal prospectus to raise capital for Tata Iron and Steel Company on his birthday on August 27, 1907.
Bhat further said how the issue became a massive hit as more than 8,000 people subscribed to it and over Rs 23 million were raised. He also quoted Dorabji Tata and said, “For the first time in India’s financial history, I had succeeded in raising for industrial purposes such a vast sum from the hidden wealth of India for the development of our mineral resources. It was the first time that the raw materials of India did not go out and return as finished articles to be sold in the country. Above all, it was a purely Swadeshi enterprise, financed by Swadeshi money and managed by Swadeshi brains.”
Tata Central Archives (TCA) was launched by JRD Tata in January 1991 and became a division of Tata Services in 1997. The archives were moved to Pune in 2001 and formally inaugurated by Ratan Tata in February same year.
Main aim of the archives is to “provide an insight into the group’s history right from its inception and to appreciate the quality of the people who shaped it,” according to Tata Group.
Also read: Pallonji Mistry passes away at 93: A look-back at his life, relationship with the Tatas, and more
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