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Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, the British-based educationist who played a key role in putting together the Tata Group deal to buy Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and steel company Corus, died today, after a brief struggle with cancer. He was 78.
Bhattacharyya was the founder and Chairman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, which focussed on reviving Britain’s manufacturing industry.
Industrialist guru
He was also a guru to many Indian industrialists and business houses, including the Tatas, the Bajaj Group, Bharat Forge and TVS Motor.
Bhattacharyya rose to eminence in Britain as the founder of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, which he launched in 1980, that looked at providing “innovative solutions to the manufacturing industry, through research, education and collaboration”.
Bhattacharyya was also Britain’s first-ever professor of manufacturing and he was a close advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leading figures in government.
Many of India’s top companies turned to him for guidance. Others like Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, studied at WMG under Bhattacharyya.
The WMG Chairman also advised the Bharat Forge Group on manufacturing and aligning systems at the company’s Indian and overseas plants.
Leading force
Many Indian auto industry leaders were known to consult him frequently and on an almost-daily basis. He also worked closely with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
WMG, JLR and Tata Motors European Technical Centre joined hands in 2018 to create the £150-million National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC).
The NAIC centre on the Warwick University campus, has been named the Lord Bhattacharyya Building.
The centre aims to promote Coventry as the leading force in British automobile manufacturing and also promote Britain as a leading force in the global automobile industry.
‘Enormous contribution’
When announcing the name of the building, it was said that the decision was made because of the “enormous contribution of Prof (Professor Bhattacharyya) to the University, the city, the region and to Jaguar Land Rover.”
Coventry City County has also reportedly requested a road leading to the Lord Bhattacharya Building to be renamed Lord Bhattacharyya Way.
Bhattacharyya was made a member of the House of Lords in 2004.
He is a recipient of Padma Bhushan.
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