PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Nov 1: Former Tata Steel managing director and Padma Bhushan Jamshed J Irani who was also known as the Steel Man of India passed away in Jamshedpur last night at the age of 86. He breathed his last during the course of treatment at 10 pm inTata Main Hospital (TMH ).
Tata Steel conveyed its sincere sympathies for Irani’s passing.
“We are deeply saddened at the demise of Padma Bhushan Dr Jamshed J Irani, fondly known as the Steel Man of India. Tata Steel family offers its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” Tata Steel said in a tweet.
We are deeply saddened at the demise of Padma Bhushan Dr. Jamshed J Irani, fondly known as the Steel Man of India. Tata Steel family offers its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/gGIg9JgGMS
— Tata Steel (@TataSteelLtd) October 31, 2022
Before leaving the Tata Steel board in June 2011, Irani had worked there for more than 40 years.
Irani was born in Nagpur on June 2, 1936. In 1956, Dr. Irani earned a BSc in science from Nagpur’s Science College, and in 1958, he earned an MSc in geology from Nagpur University.
Irani earned his Masters in Metallurgy from the University of Sheffield in the UK in 1960 and his PhD in Metallurgy there in 1963 while a JN Tata scholar.
In 1963, he began working at the British Iron and Steel Research Association in Sheffield. Later, in 1968, he worked as an assistant to the director in charge of research and development at Tata Steel.
He joined the Board of Tata Steel in 1981 and was also a non-executive Director from 2001 for a decade. Besides Tata Steel and Tata Sons, JJ rani also served as a director of several Tata Group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Teleservices.
Irani was the national president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 1992-93. He was conferred several honours, including his appointment as an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996 and an Honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his contributions to Indo-British Trade and Co-operation.
In 2004, the Government of India appointed Irani as the chairman of the expert committee for the formation of the new Companies Act of India. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2007 for his contribution to the industry. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Government of India in 2008 as an acknowledgement to his services in the area of metallurgy.
He will be fondly remembered as a visionary leader who led Tata Steel from the forefront during India’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990’s and immensely contributed to the growth and development of the steel industry in India. The former Tata Steel managing director is survived by his wife Daisy Irani and his three children, Zubin, Niloufer and Tanaaz.
The last rites will take place in Jamshedpur today.
T V Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel said, “Dr Irani transformed Tata Steel in the nineties and made us one of the lowest cost steel producers in the World. He helped build a strong foundation on which we grew in the subsequent decades. He was one of the pioneers of the TQM movement in the country. He led with courage and conviction and was a role model and mentor for many in Tata Steel then and now. The employees of Tata Steel past and present are indebted to his leadership during turbulent times.”
