No market will beat India’s growth: Chandra

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, has asked Group companies to focus on the opportunities in the Indian market.

He also said that apart from Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services, the group wants an improved play in financial services, infrastructure, consumer businesses, and in travel and hospitality.

In an interview given to Tata Review , the in-house magazine of the Tata Group, Chandrasekaran said: “The opportunity for many of our businesses in India is fantastic. They should use this opportunity to make investments and participate in and contribute to India’s growth story. I’m quite bullish about the country’s economic prospects.”

“No other market, I believe, is going to grow faster than India in the next 10-20 years. Considering our demographic profile, we will have a consumer population that is going to have higher spending power. It’s a massive market, the biggest game in town,” he added.

Consolidation

On the issue of having too many companies within the Tata fold, Chandrasekaran said: “We have far too many companies in the Tata Group and some level of consolidation is essential. Our aim should be to achieve the optimal level of consolidation without losing the entrepreneurial spirit that we are famous for. We have not worked out all the details. We have our thoughts on this and we will consider them carefully.”

Chandrasekaran, who was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Sons after the acrimonious exit of Cyrus Mistry, said that he is driving synergies within the group through the ‘One Tata’ concept. “One Tata will certainly have a financial impact. In addition, it will also be beneficial for our employees, their career paths as well as the wider community. A fundamental element of One Tata is to affect the thinking of our senior leaders and to ensure that they cascade it down the line to their teams. It’s not rocket science; it’s a shift in thinking and mindset,” he said.

On the issue of pruning unprofitable businesses, Chandrasekaran said hard decisions are inevitable.

“In a business group, you constantly have to take decisions that make financial sense. I have clearly stated the emphasis on returns and capital allocation, but that does not mean we will exit a business that does not meet our targets. We will always work hard together to realise the potential of every Tata business. There will be times, though, when hard decisions are inevitable.”

He said that businesses will have to strive for top performance and will be held accountable.

“We have to be performing at the highest level in every business we are in. If we have underperformed the competition, while the market or that industry has potential, then we must be held accountable. It’s not good enough to say this year was better than last year.”

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