J N Tata Remembered
It is certain that were the Founder to be with us today, he would have been happy with the manner in which his name and work has grown in the last 100 years-since his death. His companies are leaders in their chosen area of business and are acknowledged for their ethical practices. On May 19, 2004 the death centenary of the Founder was a day for all Tata companies to reflect on his legacy and to introspect if they are worthy successors of his faith.

Left to right: M/s T R Doongaji, K A Chaukar, J K Sethna, Dr. J J Irani, R K Krishna Kumar, S N Batliwala, Dr J J Bhabha, R N Tata, Dr. T Mukherjee, B Muthuraman S. Ramadorai, R Gopalkrishnan, F A Vandrevala, Ravi Kant, Arun Gandhi and A N Singh

Tata Steel chose a simple but poignant way to remember the man because of who’s prescience imagination the company came into being, at a time when there was no other Indian industry. Tata Steel was all that represented heavy industry in India.
At about 9.15 a.m. the moment he passed away a 100 years ago when the Steel Works was still under construction, the hooter of the most modern steel plant in the country today and one among the best in the world was switched on. For once it wailed that it did not have the opportunity to show the man it most wanted to, what it has achieved.

The employees of the company at Jamshedpur then observed a two-minute silence across the Works, as did other operating units of the company. They stopped work for a while to recall his values, his principles and the enormity of his legacy.
In Mumbai, Mr Ratan N Tata, Group Chairman garlanded the statue of the Founder at Madame Cama Road in Mantralaya Gardens early in the morning on May 19, in the presence of top Tata Group officials. Later the same evening a ceremony was organised at the Bombay House auditorium in the memory of the Founder.

 
Jamshedpur one among six
Global Compact cities of the world
In March 2004, Jamshedpur earned the distinction of engaging in the UN Global Compact Cities Pilot Project. It has now become one of six cities, after Melbourne (Australia), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Nuremberg (Germany), Bath (United Kingdom) and San Francisco (USA) to do so.

Each of the cities, which have engaged in the Global Compact Cities project, has to respect the nine principles of the Global Compact Forum in their own way. The Cities Pilot Project is being facilitated by the Melbourne Committee. The project seeks to validate the Melbourne Model in six cities with differing socioeconomic and cultural environments.The Melbourne Model addresses intractable social, economic and environmental issues in the urban context. It seeks to develop innovative solutions to these issues through working partnerships between government, business, academia and civil society.

A steering committee has been formed for its implementation in Jamshedpur with the Managing Director of JUSCO as its Convener. The committee has agreed on slum development to be the pilot project for Jamshedpur.

The world’s urban population in 2000 accounted for 47% of humanity or 2.9 billion people. By 2030 it is expected to reach 60% of humanity or 5 billion people. Urbanisation is the biggest challenge with its new environmental, economic and social problems. Jamshedpur wishes to plan for its growth so that the influx of people and the growth from within is well taken care of.
 

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