Ratan Tata, one of India’s most influential business leaders, was cremated after a state funeral in the country’s financial capital on Thursday. The veteran industrialist, former chairman of a $100-billion conglomerate Tata Group, died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at 86. No cause of death was disclosed.
Tata as chairman after the latter’s retirement in 1991. That followed the liberalization of India’s economy in 1990, bringing massive economic reforms and global investment in the country. Under his leadership, the conglomerate grew significantly to a sprawling collection of nearly 100 companies, including Tata Motors, the country’s largest automaker; Tata Steel, the largest private steel company; Tata Power,;and the information technology company Tata Consultancy Services.