PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Aug 26: In the early 1900s, no one believed that an Indian company could produce steel. This is where the Tatas stepped up – defying sceptics and prohibitive colonial policies to build Asia’s first integrated steel plant.
The journey to make India a steelmaking nation and shape the future of an aatmanirbhar economy was the vision of Tata group founder Jamsedji Tata and brought to life by the endeavours of his elder son Sir Dorabji Tata.
It was 116 years ago on August 26, 1907 – at the height of India’s Swadeshi movement – when Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd (TISCO), now Tata Steel was registered in the country.
The company now observes this date as its Foundation Day. A total seed capital of Rs 2,31,75,000 was raised within just three weeks from likeminded individuals who aspired from a self-reliant India.
Construction of the plant began in 1908 and by 1912, India was a steelmaking nation. The ambition to make India aatmanirbhar still fuels Tata Steel’s passion to work towards a better and sustainable future for all.
Jamsedji Tata had seen three great dreams for India – an iron and steel company, generating hydroelectric power, and a world-class educational institution that would tutor Indians in the sciences. He was inspired to set up an iron and steel company when he attended a lecture by Thomas Carlyle on a trip to Manchester.
By the early 1880s, Jamsedji had set his heart on building a steel plant that would compare with the best of its kind in the world. The steel venture had become an important piece of his vision of an industrialised, independent India.
But, a venture this ambitious was not without its challenges. The industrial revolution that had transformed Britain and other countries had, by and large, bypassed India. With government policies and the investment environment of colonised India, Jamsedji found his path blocked at every other turn.
In 1902, Jamsedji visited the United States to build relationships and advance his knowledge of industry. He met engineer and inventor Julian Kennedy, who was known for his contributions to the steel industry. Kennedy in turn recommended that Jamsedji approach Charles Page Perin, an eminent consulting engineer based in New York. Though strangers to one another when they met, Perin was struck by Jamsedji’s character and kindliness and agreed to travel to India and help set up the steel plant.
The search for proper minerals needed for the production of iron and steel proved elusive. That changed on February 24, 1904, when geologist PN Bose wrote to Jamsedji informing him of good quality iron found in Mayurbhanj (Odisha) and coal in Jharia (Jharkhand). In September of 1905, the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj granted the prospecting license to the Tatas and the following year the Government of India declared its intent to help the Tatas by promising to purchase steel for a specified period.
Unfortunately, Jamsedji would not see his dream come to fruition. It fell on Jamsedji’s elder son Sir Dorabji Tata. Tata Steel came into being in 1907 and held the distinction of being Asia’s first integrated steel company.
