Tata Steel celebrated the 157th Birth Anniversary of Sir Dorabji Tata today at Sir Dorabji Tata Park, Jamshedpur. Chief Guest, Mr TV Narendran, MD, Tata Steel, India and SEA and the Guest of Honour, Mr R Ravi Prasad, President, Tata Workers’ Union paid homage to the legend by offering floral tributes. The function was attended by senior officials of Tata Steel including Mr.Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President Corporate Services and Mr.Sudhnshu Pathak, Vice President Steel Manufactoring. Others presentincluded Heads of Tata Group Companies, senior citizens, employees and representatives from the Tata Workers Union.

In his address to the gathering, Mr Narendran said ‘Sir Dorabji Tata committed himself to realize the dreams of his father to build the steel plant and the city. The Tata Group has lead in thoughts and actions. Values like Integrity, Unity, Responsibility and Pioneering reflects the ethos of the Group. Sir Dorabji Tata personified all these values in many different ways. He further said that ‘ Sir Dorabji Tata was the first Chairman of the Olympic Association in India. He sponsored the first Olympic contingent that went to Paris in 1924.’

Speaking on the occasion Mr Ravi Prasad said ‘Sir Dorabji Tata fulfilled the promise of his Father of setting up a steel plant and the city of Jamshedpur. Besides production of steel he also supported development of sports, construction of broad roads and propogation of greenery .It was during his time that facilities like Eight Hours duty, provision of Gratuity were started and which was later implemented in various organizations across the World’

About Sir Dorabji Tata

Dorabji, the elder son of JN Tata. When steel prices stumbled after World War I and Tata Steel was not in a position to pay its workers, Sir Dorabji pledged his assets and his wife's jewellery to obtain a loan to disburse salaries.

Sir Dorabji was also a keen sportsman from his early boyhood. He also distinguished himself as a tennis player and played football and cricket for his college at Cambridge. Sir Dorabji Tata steered India's entry into the world of international sport by choosing and financing four athletes and two wrestlers for the Olympic Games of Antwerp in 1920, even before India had an Olympic body. Sir Dorabji Tata also secured a place for India in the 1924 Olympiad at Paris and was chosen to be a Member of the International Olympic Committee. In 1928 Olympiad at Amsterdam, India won Gold medal for the first time in hockey.

His charities were numerous and munificent. He made a gift of 25000 for the benefit of the workmen at Jamshedpur on the first Founder's Day celebrations in 1932. In order to help and assist the less fortunate, he executed a Trust for charitable purpose, covering property worth over three crores of rupees. He mortgaged his entire personal fortune to save the company from liquidation in 1920.

About Tata Steel

Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of nearly 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA). It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, has over 75,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company. The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management. In 2012, Tata Steel became the first integrated steel company in the world, outside Japan, to win the Deming Grand Prize 2012 instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers.

Chief, Corporate Communications, India & SEA
Tata Steel