In terms of philanthropic attitude, Mr Ratan N Tata has been one of the biggest donors of time & money even when he was chairman of Tata Group, which is India's biggest business group. He was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, from 1991 till his retirement on December 28, 2012.

Mr Tata joined the Tata group in 1962 (the year founder came on earth).
After serving in various companies, he was appointed Director-in-Charge of the National Radio and Electronics Company in 1971. In 1981, he was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the group’s other holding company, where he was responsible for transforming it into a group strategy think tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.

The Government of India honoured Mr Tata with its second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008. He has also received honorary doctorates from several universities in India and overseas.