For the Tata family of people and companies, the year gone by was a call to remembrance as much as it was a time for achievements and accolades

The year 2004 was momentous for the Tata Group in more ways than one, marking as it did the death centenary of Group founder Jamsetji Tata, the birth centenaries of two other stalwarts, JRD Tata and Naval Tata, and a slew of achievements by Tata companies in various industry sectors.

Among the many activities undertaken to commemorate the ‘Century of Trust’ initiative in memory of the three Tata titans was a travelling exhibition, a business quiz competition, an advertising campaign and the publication of Lasting Legacies (download .zip 53mb), a special edition of Group magazine Tata Review.

The following is an encapsulated recap of the strides that the Tata Group and its major companies took in the year gone by.

Products and services
Tata Group companies continued to respond to the needs of its customers and clients with agility while launching a variety of new products and services:

• Tata Motors had a bunch of significant launches this year. It introduced the New Indica V2, the Indigo Advent, the Indigo Marina and the Sumo Victa. It also launched the Indica and Indigo in South Africa.
• In May, Tata Asset Management launched its Tata Equity P/E Fund, which identifies suitable investment opportunities by analysing undervalued stocks on the basis of price-to-earnings ratio.
• In June, Indian Hotels launched indiOne, its ‘smart basics’ hotels in an innovative attempt to redefine the hospitality landscape with a new category that is comfortable yet affordable. In September, it opened India's first luxury homes complex, Wellington Mews, in Mumbai. In November, the company launched the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa in Mauritius. This property is spread over 27 acres on Wolmar Beach and laps the turquoise waters of Tamarin Bay.
• In July, Titan touched a new milestone in creativity by launching Flip, India’s first dual-face watch, with dual functionality and styling.
• In September, VSNL announced the launch of Tata Indicom’s ‘global calling card’, which allows Indians travelling abroad to make calls to India or any other international destination from any mobile, landline or pay phone.
• In October, Tata Chemicals launched Tata Kisan Sansar, a chain of one-stop resource centres for farmers that offer end-to-end agricultural solutions.
• In November, Tata Teleservices became the first company in the Indian telecom market to launch Push-To-Talk™ services, which allow customers to call a group of people at one time by simply pressing a button.
• In December, Tata AIG Life unveiled ‘operation quantum leap’, an aggressive business growth strategy for the next three years. It has set its sights on becoming a top player in the private insurance sector and on securing a market share of 20 per cent by 2007.

New partnerships
Many Tata companies forged new alliances and grew through acquisitions: These are some of the noteworthy developments on this front:

• In August, Tata Steel acquired NatSteel, the dominant steel producer of Singapore, for Rs 1,313 crore. This was part of the company’s quest to increase its global footprint.
• Tata Motors acquired South Korea’s second largest heavy truck maker, the Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company. The new entity then went on to launch a heavy duty truck model, Novus, in the South Korean market.
• In November, VSNL acquired Tyco Global Network, among the world’s most advanced and extensive submarine cable systems, for $130 million. In March, purchased Chennai-based Dishnet DSL’s internet service provider division for Rs 270 crore.

Hitting the headlines
Tata companies made news throughout 2004 in different ways. Here are some highlights:

• Tata Projects, now a leading company in the field of power generation, transmission and distribution, and in civil infrastructure projects, celebrated its silver jubilee in February.
• Voltas, the refrigeration and air-conditioning giant, is celebrating the fiftieth year of its existence.
• Tata Racing, which has been supporting Narain Karthikeyan, the fastest Indian in the world, added the promising Karun Chandhok to its stable of racing drivers in April.
• In May, Tata International, the international business gateway of the Tata Group, joined the billion dollar club with a 22-per cent rise in turnover.
• On July 29, the birth anniversary of late Tata Group chairman JRD Tata, software giant Tata Consultancy Services made its foray into the stock markets with an initial public offering. The issue was a roaring success, being oversubscribed seven times over. The year also saw the company providing infotech solutions and engineering services to Formula One racing carmaker Ferrari.
• In September, Tata Motors became the first company in the Indian engineering sector to list its securities on the New York Stock Exchange.
• In October, Titan announced that Indian film idol Aamir Khan would be its brand ambassador.
• In November, VSNL launched the Tata Indicom Cable, Singapore’s first fully Indian-owned undersea fibre-optic cable. This cable system will increase the existing bandwidth capacity into India.
  

Uploaded on January 5, 2005