The Tata Group today unveiled its central archives housing exhibits depicting the 123-year old history of India’s largest industrial conglomerate.

"The Tata Central Archives is much more than a museum of India’s best known industrial group," said Mr T.R. Doongaji, Managing Director of Tata Services. "It is in many ways the history of the industrialisation of India which the Tatas pioneered."

The archives, housed in the Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC) at Mangaldas Road in Pune, will be open to the public from Monday, March 5, 2001.

The archives house documents and other material that throw light on the Tatas’ association with illustrious figures of modern India like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and Rajendra Prasad.

Records of the archives are still being compiled. What is being opened to the public on Monday is the first exhibition on Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the House of Tatas. The exhibits include antique photographs and memorabilia like the chairs used by Jamsetji Tata, who pioneered India’s steel industry.

Among Jamsetji Tata’s many initiatives was the first endowment for sending students abroad for higher education which he instituted in 1892. The exhibits include the original agreement and other documents pertaining to one of the beneficiaries of the scholarship, Mr K. R. Narayanan, the President of India. The exhibits cover the scholastic career of the President, his progress in the Indian Foreign Service and his appointment as President of India.

At the instance of Mr Ratan Tata, current chairman of the Tata Group, the Mumbai office room of the late J.R.D. Tata has been replicated at the Pune archives.

The Tata Group pioneered India’s steel industry and the group’s progress is a reflection of the industrial progression of the country. They started the first power plant in India and also brought in insurance. The Tatas also set up the first chain of luxury hotels and pioneered civil aviation in the country. They introduced labour welfare benefits like provident fund, gratuity and maternity benefits long before they were enacted by law.

The Tata Group today commands a leadership position in many industries. Tata Tea is the world’s largest integrated tea operation, Tata Consultancy Services is Asia’s largest software exporter, Titan is the world’s sixth largest manufacturer-brand of watches, the Taj is India’s largest 5-star chain of luxury hotels, Tata Chemicals is India’s largest soda ash manufacturer and Tata Steel is India’s largest private steel maker.