Mr A N Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate Services presents the winners their prize money

To commemorate a “Century of Trust” the Tata Group launched the “Tata Crucible - The Business Quiz”, the first one of its kind by a business house. The first regional round of the quiz was held in Jamshedpur on June 26, 2004. The quiz, which will travel to major metros across the country, will in its first track be conducted only for employees of Tata companies and will in the second track be open to other organisation for an entry fee of Rs 500/-. The monies collected through the quiz will, as a visible gesture of the Tata Group’s continuing commitment to the Founder’s vision of serving society, be donated to “SAVE the Children India”.

The quiz covers a wide range of subjects ranging from business houses to brands, business history, people, products, business fundas and fundamentals, creators of wealth, architects of scams, Wall Street, Dalal Street, Manhattan and Chandni Chowk! It is conducted by Quiz Master Giri Balasubramaniam, a.k.a. ‘PickBrain”.

The Jamshedpur round, held at the Steelinium Hall, was keened contested by 160 teams from various Tata Group companies in the steel city. Six teams qualified, of which three were from Tata Steel.

Mr Manoj Gupta and Mr Ramesh Maharana of Tata International edged out the other teams to win a cash award of Rs 60,000/- and the opportunity to represent Jamshedpur at the national finals held at Mumbai. The prizes for the regional round were distributed by Deputy Managing Director, Corporate Services, Mr A N Singh.
 

The Ferro Alloys & Minerals Division (FAMD) and Bearings Division of the company swept the CII (Inter Region) productivity award 2003-04. While FAMD won the first prize for significant improvement in productivity in category A (Large & Medium Scale Member Companies), Bearings Division won the second prize in the same category. The latter was also conferred with a certificate in category C (Individuals or Teams from All Member Companies).

In a communique to all officers and employees of both Divisions, Dr T. Mukherjee, DMD, (Steel) congratulated them for winning the awards.
    

The consistency of Bearings Division’s product quality has made it a preferred supplier with its customers. Two leading buyers, Hero Honda Motors Limited (HHML) and Toyota Motors have reiterated this faith through shopfloor decisions and recognitions.

Based on the Division’s past performance and an audit of its plant in March 2004, Hero Honda has decided to confer the status of “Direct on Line Supplier” on Tata Bearings. The company purchases 38% of its requirement from Tata Bearings. This entire supply will henceforth not be checked at their Receiving Inspection but will be sent directly to their production lines. The products will, however, undergo a periodic audit.

Tata Bearings meets 100% of the rear wheel bearings requirement of Toyota Qualis. With “no rejections” of the products supplied to it, Toyota Qualis has recognised Bearings as a ZERO ppm supplier. This laurel places the Division on par with the international quality standards of Toyota and is a symbol of the trust Toyota reposes in the bearings supplied to them under the TATA brand.