Within three weeks, 8,000 subscriptions were received from Indian investors. When debentures were issued to provide the working capital, the entire issue of 400,000 pounds was subscribed by the Maharaja of Gwalior.
A total of Rs 2.32 crore (Rs 23.2 million) was raised through issuance of ordinary, preference and deferred shares, to set up a plant with a rated capacity of 72,000 tonnes per annum, 14 per cent of India's total steel requirements.
Work on the plant began in 1908 and the first ingot was rolled out on February 16, 1912. Tatas retained 11 per cent in the company.
It wasn't a smooth ride for the fledgling company, which came close to being taken over by the government quite a few times. So much so, that the Steel Industry (Protection) Bill had to be introduced in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1924 to prevent this from happening.
The fears of nationalization were to haunt the company one more time during the Janata Party rule (1977-79) when George Fernandes, the then industry minister, floated the idea. However, it did not happen.
Jamsetji dreamt of building Tata Steel but it was JRD Tata who took it to new heights. Under his leadership, the Tata assets grew from Rs 62 crore (Rs 620 million) to Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in 1990.
Apart from being a great leader himself, JRD Tata had the rare ability to create leaders. He chose Russi Mody, a manager par excellence, to succeed him in 1984 while JRD became chairman emeritus.
For two generations and more Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata epitomised a way of life and a culture of business that cared for the country and its people.
Photograph: Tata Group
Also read: JRD Tata: A life extraordinary
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