"Leaves behind an astronomical imprint on industry, "Sunil Bharti Mittal remembers Ratan Tata
Mumbai: Bharti Enterprises founder, Sunil Bharti Mittal paid tribute to veteran industrialist Ratan Tata on his demise and said that he had left a great imprint on the Indian industry.
"I'm deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Ratan Tata. He leaves behind an astronomical imprint on the Indian industry, philanthropy and the perennial zest to better the world we live in," a statement by Sunil Bharti Mittal said.
Mittal remembered Ratan Tata as a nation-builder who inspired entrepreneurs and Indians.
"A true nation builder, his legacy in the growth of the country will forever inspire entrepreneurs and all Indians alike. On behalf of Bharti Enterprises, I share my deepest condolences with the Tata family," the statement added.
Earlier, former chief executive of Tata sons, Minoo Mody also paid his tribute on the passing of the veteran industrialist, he said, "It is a loss, and you know he had retired so he was not as involved, and you know as Tatas have always done is prepare for succession. Ratan Tata was always sympathetic towards people and always wanted to be helpful, in his charity funds, he went out of his way to see that the money was always utilised effectively."
Chairman and Managing Director of Balaji Infra Projects Limited, Dr Vijay Kalantri remembered the interactions he had with Tata.
"Ratan Tata was a legend, a visionary and a doyen of Indian industry. I have known him since the 1980s and I had great occasions to meet him and interact with him. A great philanthropist, a man with a human touch," Kalantri said.
He further appealed to the government to confer the Bharat Ratna to Ratan Tata, India's highest civilian award.
He said, "I have one appeal to the govt and that is that Ratan Tata should be conferred with Bharat Ratna. This is the highest civilian award I think we should honour him with it, he deserves it. I think we all will be happy and proud if this is conferred on him by the Government of India and this is my appeal to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi."
Ratan Tata was honoured with the country's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008.
Additionally, the Executive Director of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited Isha Ambani and Executive Director of Piramal Group Anand Piramal paid their respects at Mumbai's National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), where the public can pay their last respects before the last rites between 10 AM to 4 PM.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said earlier that the last rites will be performed with full state honours.
Tata, born on December 28, 1937, in Mumbai, was the Chairman of Ratan Tata Trust and Dorabji Tata Trust, two of the largest private-sector-promoted philanthropic trusts in India. He was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, from 1991 until his retirement in 2012. Then he was appointed Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons.
