Nelco

1839–1904

As published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts dated Aug. 27, 1948. The House of Tata - Sixty Years Industrial Development in India by Sir Frederick James, O.B.E. - “Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata was born in 1839, just after Macaulay had left India to write his famous history of England. Tata graduated from Elphinstone College in Bombay in 1858. Shortly afterwards, he joined his father’s trading firm that dealt in general merchandise. There, the junior Tata took a special interest in developing trade with China.

When the American Civil War caused a boom in the Bombay cotton market, Tata and his father joined the Asiatic Banking Corporation. When the tide ebbed, Tata's credit was left desolate. Fortunately, the firm’s credit was re-established during the next three years. A share in the lucrative contract for the commissariat of Napier’s expedition to Abyssinia in 1868 restored the family fortune.” In 1870 with Rs.21,000 capital, he founded a trading company. Further, he bought a bankrupt oil mill at Chinchpokli and converted it into a cotton mill, under the name Alexandra Mill which he sold for a profit after two years. In 1874, he set up another cotton mill at Nagpur named Empress Mill. He dreamed of achieving four goals, setting up an iron and steel company, a unique hotel, a world-class learning institution, and a hydroelectric plant. During his lifetime, in 1903, the Taj Mahal Hotel at Colaba waterfront was opened making it the first hotel with electricity in India.

1904–1938

After Jamsedji's death, his older son Dorabji Tata became the chairman in 1904. Sir Dorabji established the Tata Iron and Steel company , now known as Tata Steel in 1907. Marking the group's global ambitions, Tata Limited opened its first overseas office in London. Following the founder's goals, Western India's first hydro plant was brought to life, giving birth to Tata Power. Yet another dream, Indian Institute of Science was established with the first batch admitted in 1911.

1938–1991

J. R. D. Tata was made chairman of the Tata Group in 1938. Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$101 million to over US$5 billion. Starting with 14 enterprises, upon his departure half a century later in 1988, Tata Sons had grown to a conglomerate of 95 enterprises. These enterprises consisted of ventures that the company had either started or in which they held controlling interest. New sectors such as chemicals, technology, cosmetics, marketing, engineering, manufacturing, tea, and software services earned them recognition.In 1932, JRD founded an airline, known as Tata Air Services . In 1953, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act and purchased a majority stake in the carrier from Tata Sons, though JRD Tata would continue as chairman till 1977.

In 1945, Tata Motors was founded, first focused on locomotives. In 1954, it entered the commercial vehicle market after forming a joint venture with Daimler-Benz. In 1968, Tata Consultancy Services was founded.

1991–present

In 1991, Ratan Tata became chairman of Tata Group. This was also the year of economic liberalization in India, opening up the market to foreign competitors. During this time, Tata Group began to acquire a number of companies, including Tetley , Corus Group , and Jaguar and Land Rover .

In 2008, the subsidiary Tata Motors launched the Tata Nano which they presented as "the world’s cheapest car".In 2017, Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed chairman. He was instrumental in restructuring business verticals and increasing promoter stake ownership in companies. Under his leadership, the group made acquisitions through insolvency law and investments in E-commerce, expanded its airline business by winning a bid for Air India and completely bought Air Asia India. He has mentioned the future strategy is to focus on healthcare, electronics, and digital.Tata Owned Air India got approval to acquire AirAsia India, nearly two months after putting forth the proposal.

The Competition Commission of India approved the acquisition of the entire shareholding in Air Asia India by Tata-owned Air India.