Sanand
—  city  —
Sanand Location of Sanand in Gujarat and India
Coordinates	22°59′N 72°23′E / 22.98°N 72.38°E / 22.98; 72.38Coordinates: 22°59′N 72°23′E / 22.98°N 72.38°E / 22.98; 72.38
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District(s)	Ahmedabad
Population	32,348 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 38 metres (125 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 382 110

Sanand is a city and a municipality in Ahmedabad district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is best known as the automobile hub of Gujarat.^[1],^[2]

History[link]

Sanand is a small village near Ahmedabad city. It was ruled by the Vaghelas in the past. The Palace which was built by the Vaghelas is present and it is the home of the royal family of Sanand^{[citation needed]}. The famous artist of the Mewati Gharana, Late Maharana Jaiwant Sinh Vaghela was from the royal family of Sanand. He was a great musician and also the guru of Pandit Jasraj. His son was Late Maharana Rudradutt Sinhji Vaghela of Sanand. His son and the present king of Sanand is Maharana Jaishiv Sinhji Vaghela of Sanand^{[citation needed]}. He has a son who is 17 years old and the present yuvraj Dhruv Sinh Vaghela of Sanand and a daughter Katayayini Sinh Vaghela of Sanand who is 12 years old^{[citation needed]}.

Pandit Jasraj frequently visits Sanand. Historically this place is related to the Pandavas also. When Arjuna was coming back from Godhavi (a nearby village of sanand), it is said that he took rest at this place and felt an immense pleasure. Thus the name of the city came Sa (with) + Anand (pleasure)

Geography[link]

Sanand is located at 22°59′N 72°23′E / 22.98°N 72.38°E / 22.98; 72.38.^[3] It has an average elevation of 38 metres (124 feet).

Demographics[link]

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[4] Sanand had a population of 32,348. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sanand has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 65%. In Sanand, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy[link]

Sanand is part of the dedicated Viramgam Special Investment Region of Gujarat.

Located near the city of Ahmedabad, Sanand is about 70 kilometers (40 miles) from a recently rebuilt international airport. Sanand is linked to Ahmedabad and Kutch by state highway 17. The state highway 17 joins India's National Highway 8, part of the recently completed 4-lane Golden Quadrilateral highway linking Sanand to many of the major industrial, economic and cultural regions of India.^[5] Sanand is connected by a modern highway to Mundra Port, a fully operational and one of the fastest growing, recently expanded sea ports in southeast Asia. Sanand is about 350 kilometers (220 miles) from Mundra port. Sanand is also close to the proposed Dholera port and international airport. Once approved and built, Dholera will provide Sanand with a secondary and competing means of air, ocean and road logistics, both within India and to global markets.

In addition to modern highways, Sanand-Viramgam has an operational broad gauge railway network connecting it to major industrial centers located in Gujarat.

Sanand has become one of the booming entrepreneurial centers in India. Like industrial hubs in the developed countries and export centers in China, Sanand offers the following competitive incentives to companies seeking to set up operations within Sanand region:

• Income Tax Incentives
• 10 year corporate tax holiday on export profit – 100% for initial 5 years and 50% for the next 5 years
• Exemption from dividend distribution tax
• Indirect Tax Incentives
• Zero customs duty
• Zero excise duty
• Exemption from central sales tax
• Exemption from service tax

Sanand has recently attracted commitments of billions of US dollars in investments from some of world's largest companies. Some of these companies have already started producing and shipping products, while others have announced facility completion and product shipment within the next 1-3 years. Some examples include:^[6]

Tata Motors[link]

Tata Motors in June 2010 rolled out the first Nano cars from its main manufacturing plant at Northcote Cattle Farm. The construction time was a record breaking 14 months. The cost amounted to 20 Milliard Indian Rupees (Ca. 20 Milliard Euro). During the starting period the production plant employed 2.400 staff. Including the indirect jobs around the plant there were about 10.000 people depending on the initial production. The plant has a capacity to manufacture 250,000 cars a year in the first phase, which will be scaled up to 500,000 cars a year. The project, including Tata Motors plant, vendor facilities and a railway transportation hub near Nidhrad Village , will together generate over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. This plant uses land of Gujarat Agricultural University which was in the name of Government of Gujarat.

Sanand Nano Land controversy[link]

The 1100 acres^[7] of Land which was allotted to Tata falls in villages Khoda and Bol in Sanand Taluka.

According to one report:^[7]

• Immediately after the Nano deal was sealed, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation had notified six villages for acquisition in Sanand. Farmers initially were under the impression that the authorities will take away their land for free. In distress, about 3,000 of them protested. The government explained that it was not trying to get their land for free, declared the price of the land at Rs 1,200 per square meter (US$ 108,000 per acre), four-times better than the market price. The opposition crumbled, farmers enthusiastically cooperated with the government, and agreed to the acquisition.
• Post-acquisition, the locals claim one of the biggest gains to come out of the Nano project is that the environment in our village has improved drastically. The Gujarat government has placed significant efforts into preventing pollution and improving environmental quality in Sanand. It has given notice to factories, small as well as large, that emit high levels of pollution in the area to either leave or treat the pollutants. This has been well received by rural communities around Sanand.

Tata paid Rs 900/sqm (US$ 81,000 per acre) to Gujarat Government for the land in Sanand.^[8]

Automotive manufacturing is a globally competitive industry. For context purposes, the price paid by Tata may be compared with land prices elsewhere in the world:

• According to The Financial Times, in 2008, the farmland prices in France were Euro 6,000 per hectare ($2,430 per acre; IN Rs. 1,09,350 per acre).^[9]
• According to the United States Department of Agriculture, as of January 2010, the average farmland value in the United States was $2,140 per acre (IN Rs. 96,300 per acre). The farmland prices in the United States varied between different parts of the country, ranging between $480 per acre to $4,690 per acre.^[10]

According to a July 2011 report from the Government of India, the average land productivity from farming in India is less than Rs 22,500 per year per acre (USD 500 per acre per year). The average rural household per capita expenditure/income in 2010, was IN Rs. 11,136 per year (US$ 252 per year).^[11]

Ford[link]

• Car manufacturing plant^[12]
• Stamping plant^[13]
• Car body paintshop^[14]
• Engine plant^[15]
• Final Assembly plant^[16]

On 28 July 2011, Ford announced a deal to invest Rs 40 billion^[17] (U$906m)^[18] to build a plant in Sanand.

The plant, spread over 460 acres,^[19] will have a capacity to make 240,000 cars/year and 270,000 engines/year.^[20] 5000 people will be employed at the plant,^[21] another 25,000 indirectly and another 6000 in ancillary engineering, totalling 36,000 jobs.^[22]

Ford chose Gujarat over Tamil Nadu because Tamil Nadu no longer has a surplus of electricity as it did in 1996 when Ford built their plant in Chennai.^[23]

The 460 acres was leasted to Ford for Rs 1100/sqm while the prevailing market rate in the area is Rs 4000/sqm.^[24]

The President of Ford Asia-Pacific-Africa, Joe Hinrichs, said it takes 10 days to transport cars from its Chennai plant to Punjab.^[25] Sanand is on the Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor and can reach showrooms in northern states more quickly and cheaply.^[26]

Construction of the plant is from end-2011 with car production to begin in 2014.^[27]

CSA Peugeot Citroën[link]

• Car manufacturing plant^[28]
• Stamping plant^[29]
• body paintshop^[30]
• engine plant^[31]
• gearbox plant^[32]
• Final assembly plant^[33]

The French automobile maker signed an agreement with the Gujarat government on the 1st of Septembter 2011.

French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen has chosen the Indian state of Gujarat to build a 650-million-euro ($928-million) factory capable of turning out 165,000^[34] vehicles per year.

The integrated manufacturing and engine and gearbox facility, which should come on line in 2013, will generate 5,000 new jobs in the rapidly developing Sanand automotive cluster.^[35]

• 25% of the production will be exported.^[36]

Under the framework of this agreement, Peugeot plans to invest Rs 4,000 crore on a 584 acre^[37] site in the heart of the rapidly developing Sanand automotive cluster in Western India.^[38]

The agreement was inked between the Gujarat Government officials and representatives of PSA Peugeot Citroen in the presence of chief minister Narendra Modi and Philippe Varin, chairman of the managing board of PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Hitachi Ltd[link]

Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt Ltd announced a 60:40 joint venture between Japanese electronics major, Hitachi Ltd and Hi-Rel Electronics Pvt Ltd, an Ahmedabad-based power electronics products maker, is setting up a manufacturing facility of power equipment at Sanand near Ahmedabad.^[39]

Other Industries[link]

The Indian pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare has a plant to make Generic Medicines at Moraiya within Sanand taluka.

Indian Real Estate giants, DLF & Parswanath are in talks to acquire large land area near Sanand to develop major townships close to Ahmedabad.

Industrial Land Availability[link]

The state-owned Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation has acquired 5000 acres of land in and around Sanand for future use by industries.^[40]

References[link]

hello world

External links[link]

• Sanand Auto Industry Thread, Skyscrapercity India
• Sananad Google maps
• Properties, Real Estate and Projects in Sanand, Ahmedabad

In this Burmese name, Bogyoke is an honorific.

Aung San အောင်ဆန်း
Nickname	Buffalo General
Born	13 February 1915 Natmauk, Magwe, British Burma
Died	19 July 1947 (aged 32) Rangoon, British Burma
Buried at	Martyrs' Mausoleum, Myanmar
Allegiance	Burma National Army Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League Communist Party of Burma
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	World War II

This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.

History of Burma
Prehistory 11,000–200 BCE Pyu city-states 200 BCE–1050 CE Mon kingdoms 825?–1057 Arakanese kingdoms 788?–1406
Pagan Dynasty 849–1298 Pagan Empire 1044–1287 Mongol invasions 1277–1301 Warring states period Upper Burma 1298–1555 Myinsaing 1298–1313 Pinya 1313–1364 Sagaing 1315–1364 Ava 1364–1555 Prome 1482–1542 Ramanya 1287–1539 Shan states 1215–1557 Arakan 1430–1785 Toungoo Dynasty 1510–1752 Toungoo Empire 1530–1599 Nyaungyan period 1599–1752 Restored Hanthawaddy 1740–1757 Konbaung Dynasty 1752–1885 Anglo-Burmese wars 1824–1885
British colonial period 1824–1948 Nationalist movement 1900–1948 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 State of Burma 1943–1945
Modern era 1948–present Union of Burma 1948–1962 Socialist Republic 1962–1988 Union of Myanmar 1988–2010 Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2010–present
Timeline List of capitals List of leaders Military history
v t e

Bogyoke (General) Aung San (Burmese: အောင်ဆန်း; MLCTS: buil hkyup aung hcan:, pronounced: [bòdʑoʊʔ àʊɴ sʰáɴ]); 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army (Tatmadaw), and considered to be the Father of (modern-day) Burma.

He was a founder of the Communist Party of Burma and was instrumental in bringing about Burma's independence from British colonial rule in Burma, but was assassinated six months before independence. He is recognized as the leading architect of independence, and the founder of the Union of Burma. Affectionately known as "Bogyoke" (General), Aung San is still widely admired by the Burmese people, and his name is still invoked in Burmese politics to this day.

Aung San had a daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a recipient of a Nobel Peace an a Burmese politician.

Youth[link]

Aung San was born to U Pha, a lawyer, and his wife Daw Suu in Natmauk, Magway District, in central Burma on 13 February 1915. His family was already well known in the Burmese resistance movement; his great uncle Bo Min Yaung fought against the British annexation of Burma in 1886.

Aung San received his primary education at a Buddhist monastic school in Natmauk, and secondary education at Yenangyaung High School. He went to Rangoon University (now the University of Yangon) and received a B.A. degree in English Literature, Modern History, and Political Science in 1938.

Names of Aung San[link]

• Name at birth: Htein Lin (ထိန်လင်း)
• As student leader and a thakin: Aung San (သခင်အောင်ဆန်း)
• Nom de guerre: Bo Tayza (ဗိုလ်တေဇ)
• Japanese Name: Omoda Monji (面田紋次)
• Chinese Name: Tan Lu Sho
• Resistance period code name: Myo Aung (မျိုးအောင်), U Naung Cho (ဦးနောင်ချို)
• Contact code name with General Ne Win: Ko Set Pe (ကိုစက်ဖေ)

Struggle for independence[link]

Portrait of the 1936 Oway magazine's editorial committee

After Aung San entered Rangoon University in 1933, he quickly became a student leader.^[1] He was elected to the executive committee of the Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU). He then became editor of their magazine Oway (Peacock's Call).^[2]

Portrait of the Rangoon University Student Union in 1936.

In February 1936, he was threatened with expulsion from the university, along with U Nu, for refusing to reveal the name of the author of the article Hell Hound At Large, which criticized a senior University official. This led to the Second University Students' Strike and the university authorities subsequently retracted their expulsion orders. In 1938, Aung San was elected president of both the Rangoon University Student Union (RUSU) and the All-Burma Students Union (ABSU), formed after the strike spread to Mandalay.^[2][3] In the same year, the government appointed him as a student representative on the Rangoon University Act Amendment Committee.

Dobama Asiayone protests

In October 1938, Aung San left his law classes and entered national politics. At this point, he was anti-British, and staunchly anti-imperialist. He became a Thakin (lord or master – a politically motivated title that proclaimed that the Burmese people were the true masters of their country, not the colonial rulers who had usurped the title for their exclusive use) when he joined the Dobama Asiayone (Our Burma Union), and acted as their general secretary until August 1940. While in this role, he helped organize a series of countrywide strikes that became known as ME 1300 Revolution (၁၃၀၀ ပြည့် အရေးတော်ပုံ, Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon), named after the Burmese calendar year.

He also helped found another nationalist organization, the Freedom Bloc (ဗမာ့ထွက်ရပ်ဂိုဏ်း, Bama-htwet-yat Gaing), by forming an alliance between the Dobama, the ABSU, politically active monks and Dr Ba Maw's Sinyètha (Poor Man's) Party, and became its general secretary. What remains relatively unknown is the fact that he also became a founder member and first secretary-general of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in August 1939. Shortly afterwards he co-founded the People's Revolutionary Party, renamed the Socialist Party after the Second World War.^[2] In March 1940, he attended the Indian National Congress Assembly in Ramgarh, India. However, the government issued a warrant for his arrest due to Thakin attempts to organize a revolt against the British and he had to flee Burma.^[3] He went first to China, seeking assistance from the government there^[4] (China was still under nationalist government during World War II), but he was intercepted by the Japanese military occupiers in Amoy, and was convinced by them to go to Japan instead.^[2]

World War II period[link]

Aung San married Khin Kyi in September 1942.

Aung San in Japan, flanked by Bo Letya (Thakin Hla Pe) to his left and Bo Sekkya (Thakin Aung Than) to his right.

Whilst Aung San was in Japan, the Blue Print for a Free Burma, which has been widely but mistakenly attributed to him, was drafted.^[5] In February 1941, Aung San returned to Burma, with an offer of arms and financial support from the Fumimaro Konoe government. He returned briefly to Japan to receive more military training, along with the first batch of young revolutionaries who came to be known as the Thirty Comrades.^[2] On 26 December 1941, with the help of the Minami Kikan, a secret intelligence unit formed to close the Burma Road and to support a national uprising and headed by Colonel Suzuki, he founded the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in Bangkok, Thailand (which was aligned with Japan for most of World War II).^[2]

The former capital of Burma, Rangoon (now Yangon), fell to the Japanese in March 1942 (as part of the Burma Campaign in World War II). The BIA formed an administration for the country under Thakin Tun Oke that operated in parallel with the Japanese military administration until the Japanese disbanded it. In July, the disbanded BIA was re-formed as the Burma Defense Army (BDA). Aung San was made a colonel and put in charge of the force.^[3] He was later invited to Japan, and was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor.^[3]

Aung San in Burma National Army uniform.

On 1 August 1943, the Japanese declared Burma to be an independent nation. Aung San was appointed War Minister, and the army was again renamed, this time as the Burma National Army (BNA).^[3] Aung San became skeptical of Japanese promises of true independence and of Japan's ability to win the war. He made plans to organize an uprising in Burma and made contact with the British authorities in India, in cooperation with Communist leaders Thakin Than Tun and Thakin Soe. On 27 March 1945, he led the BNA in a revolt against the Japanese occupiers and helped the Allies defeat the Japanese.^[2] 27 March came to be commemorated as 'Resistance Day' until the military regime later renamed it 'Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) Day'.

Post-World War II[link]

After the return of the British, who had established a military administration, the Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO), formed in August 1944, was transformed into a united front, comprising the BNA, the Communists and the Socialists, and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). The Burma National Army was renamed the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF) and then gradually disarmed by the British as the Japanese were driven out of various parts of the country. The Patriotic Burmese Forces, while disbanded, were offered positions in the Burma Army under British command according to the Kandy conference agreement with Lord Louis Mountbatten in Ceylon in September 1945.^[2] Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but he declined it in favor of becoming a civilian political leader and the military leader of the Pyithu yèbaw tat (People's Volunteer Organisation or PVO).^[2]

In January 1946, Aung San became the President of the AFPFL following the return of civil government to Burma the previous October. In September, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma by the new British Governor Sir Hubert Rance, and was made responsible for defence and external affairs.^[2] Rance and Mountbatten took a very different view from the former British Governor, Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, and also Winston Churchill, who had called Aung San a 'traitor rebel leader'.^[2] A rift had already developed inside the AFPFL between the Communists and Aung San, leading the nationalists and Socialists, which came to a head when Aung San and others accepted seats on the Executive Council, culminating in the expulsion of Thakin Than Tun and the CPB from the AFPFL.^[2][3]

Aung San was to all intents and purposes Prime Minister, although he was still subject to a British veto. On 27 January 1947, Aung San and the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee signed an agreement in London guaranteeing Burma's independence within a year; Aung San had been responsible for its negotiation.^[2] During the stopover in Delhi at a press conference, he stated that the Burmese wanted 'complete independence' not dominion status and that they had 'no inhibitions of any kind' about 'contemplating a violent or non-violent struggle or both' in order to achieve this, and concluded that he hoped for the best but he was prepared for the worst.^[3]

Two weeks after the signing of the agreement with Britain, Aung San signed an agreement at the Panglong Conference on 12 February 1947 with leaders from other national groups, expressing solidarity and support for a united Burma.^[2][6] Karen representatives played a relatively minor role in the conference and, as subsequent rebellions revealed, remained alienated from the new state. U Aung Zan Wai, U Pe Khin, Major Aung, Sir Maung Gyi and Dr. Sein Mya Maung and Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar representative General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. All these leaders unanimously decided to join the Union of Burma.

In general elections held in April 1947, the AFPFL won 176 out of 210 seats in the election for a Constituent Assembly, while the Karens won 24, the Communists 6 and Anglo-Burmans winning 4.^[7] In July, Aung San convened a series of conferences at Sorrenta Villa in Rangoon to discuss the rehabilitation of Burma.

Assassination[link]

On 19 July 1947, a gang of armed paramilitaries of former Prime Minister U Saw^{[citation needed]} broke into the Secretariat Building in downtown Rangoon during a meeting of the Executive Council (the shadow government established by the British in preparation for the transfer of power) and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers, including his older brother Ba Win, father of Sein Win leader of the government-in-exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). A cabinet secretary and a bodyguard were also killed. U Saw was subsequently tried and hanged. During his trial a number of middle-ranking British army officers were implicated in the plot; they also were tried and imprisoned. Rumours of higher-level British involvement, and/or involvement by Ne Win, Aung San's long-term rival for leadership within the AFPFL, are unproven and probably unfounded.^[8]

Family[link]

Aung San, his wife Khin Kyi and their eldest son, Aung San Oo

While he was War Minister in 1942, Aung San met and married Khin Kyi, and around the same time her sister met and married Thakin Than Tun, the Communist leader. Aung San and Khin Kyi had four children. Their youngest surviving child, Aung San Suu Kyi, is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of the Burmese Opposition, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and was until 13 November 2010, held under house arrest by the military regime. Their second son, Aung San Lin, died at age eight, when he drowned in an ornamental lake in the grounds of the house. The elder, Aung San Oo, is an engineer working in the United States and has disagreed with his sister's political activities. Their youngest daughter, Aung San Chit, born in September 1946, died a few days after her birth.^[9] Aung San's wife Daw Khin Kyi died on 27 December 1988.

Legacy[link]

Statue of Aung San on the northern shore of Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon

A statue of Aung San in Mandalay

His place in history as the Architect of Burmese Independence and a national hero is assured both from his own legacy and due to the activities of his daughter. Aung San Suu Kyi was only two when her father died. A martyrs' mausoleum was built at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda and 19 July was designated Martyr's Day (Azani nei), a public holiday. His literary work entitled "Burma's Challenge" was likewise popular.

Aung San's name had been invoked by successive Burmese governments since independence until the military regime in the 1990s tried to eradicate all traces of Aung San's memory. Nevertheless, several statues of him adorn the former capital Yangon and his portrait still has pride of place in many homes and offices throughout the country. Scott Market, Yangon's most famous, was renamed Bogyoke Market in his memory, and Commissioner Road was retitled Bogyoke Aung San Road after independence. These names have been retained. Many towns and cities in Burma have thoroughfares and parks named after him. His portrait was held up everywhere during the 8888 Uprising in 1988 and used as a rallying point.^[2] Following the 8888 Uprising, the government redesigned the national currency, the kyat, removing his picture and replacing it with scenes of Burmese life.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Aung San

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aung San

• Aung San's resolution to the Constituent Assembly regarding the Burmese Constitution, 16 June 1947
• Who really killed Aung San? Vol 1 on YouTube BBC documentary on YouTube, 19 July 1997
• Kin Oung. Who Killed Aung San? White Lotus, 2^nd edition. ISBN 974-8496-68-6

Ratan Tata
Born	(1937-12-28) 28 December 1937 (age 74) Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
Residence	Colaba, Mumbai, India[1]
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Parsi
Alma mater	Cornell University Harvard University
Occupation	Chairman of Tata Group
Years active	1962-present
Religion	Zoroastrian
Spouse	unmarried
Awards	Padma Bhushan (2000) Padma Vibhushan (2008) KBE (2009)
Signature	150px

Sir Ratan Naval Tata KBE (Gujarati: રતન નવલ ટાટા; born 28 December 1937) is an Indian businessman who became chairman (1991– ) of the Tata Group, a Mumbai-based conglomerate.^[2] He is a member of a prominent family of Indian industrialists and philanthropists (see Tata family).

Among many other honours accorded him during his career, Tata received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most distinguished civilian awards, in 2000 and Padma Vibhushan in 2008.^[3] He has also been ranked as India's most powerful CEO.^[4]

Early life[link]

Ratan Tata was adopted to famous Tata , a prominent family belonging to the Parsi community. Ratan is the grandson of Tata group founder Jamsedji Tata. His childhood was troubled, with his parents separating in the mid-1940s when he was merely seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five years old. Their mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai.^[5]

Tata started his schooling at Campion School and finished at Cathedral and John Connon School both in Bombay.^[6] Ratan Tata completed his B.S. in architecture with structural engineering from Cornell University in 1962, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 1975.^[7] He is a part of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.^[8]

Career at Tata Sons[link]

When he returned to India in 1962 after turning down a job with IBM on the advice of JRD, he was sent to Jamshedpur to work on the shop floor at Tata Steel with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnace.^[9] In 1971, he was appointed the Director of National Radio and Electronics (Nelco), which was in dire straits when he came on board: with losses of 40% and barely 2% share of the consumer electronics market. However, just when he turned it around (from 2% to 25% market share), the Emergency was declared. A weak economy and labour issues compounded the problem and Nelco was quickly near collapse again.

For his next assignment, in 1977 he was asked to turn around the sick Empress Mills, which he did. However, he was refused a Rs 50 lakh investment required to make the textile unit competitive. Empress Mills floundered and was finally closed in 1986.

In 1981, JRD Tata stepped down as Tata Industries chairman, naming Ratan as his successor. He was heavily criticized for lacking experience in running a company of the scale of Tata Industries.^[9]

In 1991, he was appointed group chairman of the Tata group. As group chairman, he has been responsible for converting "the corporate commonwealth" of different Tata-affiliated companies into a cohesive company. He has been responsible for the acquisition of Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover and Corus, which have turned Tata from a largely India-centric company into a global business, with 65% revenues coming from abroad. He also pushed the development of Indica and the Nano. He is widely credited for the success of the Tata Group of companies, especially after the liberalization of controls after the 1990s.^[1]

In August 2007, Ratan Tata lead Tata Group's acquisition of British steel maker Corus. At that time, this was the largest takeover of a foreign company by an Indian company, and resulted in Tata Group becoming the fifth largest steel producer in the world. According to the BBC, however, some analysts criticized the move, saying that Tata Group had overpaid for Corus and had prioritized national pride before its shareholders.^[10]

Tata is set to retire in December 2012 to be succeeded by Cyrus Mistry, the 42-year-old son of Pallonji Mistry and managing director of Shapoorji Pallonji Group.^[11]

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the program board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative.^[12]

Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, University of Southern California and Cornell University.^[13][14] He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is a member of the Asia-Pacific advisory committee for the New York Stock Exchange. In 2010, he joined BMB Group as an advisory board member.

• FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism.^[27]
• 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, awarded by Cornell University^[28]
• Recipient of the 'Global Indian Award' at the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards 2008^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ratan Naval Tata

• Ratan Naval Tata's chairman profile at Tata Group
• Profile at The Guardian
• Ratan Tata collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Ratan Naval Tata collected news and commentary at The Bloomberg Businessweek
• Ratan Naval Tata collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Ratan Tata at the Notable Names Database
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Narendra Modi નરેન્દ્ર મોદી
Chief Minister of Gujarat
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2001
Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Preceded by	Keshubhai Patel
Constituency	Maninagar
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 61) Vadnagar, Gujarat, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Alma mater	Gujarat University[1]
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Narendra Modi
As of 9 March, 2009 Source: Government of Gujarat

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950^[1]) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben.^[2] He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.^[3] In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.^[4] He was elected again for a third term^[5] on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".^[6][7]

Personal life[link]

Modi was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India.^[8] During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations.^[9] As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirmāṇ ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organiser for the organisation, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[10] As a teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his brother.^[11] Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political science from Gujarat University.^[12]

Early activism and politics[link]

Modi was a pracharak (campaigner) in the RSS during his university years.^[12][13] He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.

The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organising two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.

In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001. In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat after the removal of chief minister Keshubhai Patel.

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat[link]

Personality[link]

Modi is known for leading a frugal lifestyle. He has a personal staff of just three. He is known to be a workaholic Chief Minister and an introvert.^[14] He ordered the demolition of many Hindu temples that were built without proper government sanction which earned him the ire of VHP^[11] He is a crowd puller as a speaker. Modi has also tried to turn his image from an Hindu Nationalist politician to an image of able administrator. He wears business suits and is improving his command over the English language.^[15]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Modi was awarded Gujarat Ratna by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on celebration of centenary year.^[16]

Development of Gujarat[link]

As a Chief Minister, Modi started various 'yojanas' or plans. This includes:

• Panchamrut Yojana,^[17][18][19] a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state,
• Sujalam Sufalam, a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilisation.
• Krishi Mahotsav – agricultural research labs for the land
• Chiranjeevi Yojana – To reduce infant mortality rate
• Matru Vandana – Providing preventive and curative services under the Reproductive and Child Health Programme
• Beti Bachao – Campaign against female infanticide to improve sex ratio
• Jyotigram Yojana – Provide electricity to every village
• Karmayogi Abhiyan – To educate and train government employees
• Kanya Kelavani Yojana – To encourage female literacy and education
• Balbhog Yojana – Midday meal scheme for students to encourage school attendance from poor backgrounds.^[20]

Vibrant Gujarat[link]

Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial Global Investors' Summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat. the event has been held continuously since 2003.

Gujarat earthquake[link]

The biggest challenge which he had to face when he took over as the Chief Minister, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001.

Gujarat violence[link]

On 27 February 2002, a train was burned by a Muslim mob in the town of Godhra leading to 59 deaths, most of them Hindu pilgrims and activists returning from the holy city of Ayodhya.^[21] Riots broke out in the state after it was suspected to be caused by Muslims, leading to 1180 deaths, many of them Muslims. Modi administration was accused of inaction over the riots and for encouraging them.^[15] As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation.^[22][23] Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.^[24][25] In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy.^[15] The team was appointed in response to the complaint of zakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the riots.^[26] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.^[27]

However in February 2011, the Times of India reported that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.^[28] Most other sources have noted that the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence.^[29][30] The Indian Express too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation.^[31] According to the Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them.^[32] The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming the leak was politically motivated.^[33]

The apex court refused to pass any order on the case and referred it to the Ahmedabad magistrate for a decision.^[34] In April 2012, a Special Investigation Team found absolved Modi of any involvement in the Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the riots.^[35]. On 7 May 2012, a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran observed that Modi can be prosecuted under sections 153 A (1) (a) & (b), 153 B (1), 166 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity among different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots.^[36]. However the amicus report has been criticised by the Special Investigation Team for relying heavily on the testimony of a perjurer^[37].

2007 elections[link]

Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he justified the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, During the election campaign In response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death",^[38] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities.^[39] Modi won the election and continued his post as the Chief Minister Of Gujarat, he won with majority of votes of 122 seats out of 182 total assembly seats.^[40]

Conflicts with Governor Kamla Beniwal[link]

On 25 August 2011 Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal appointed Justice R A Mehta to the post of Lokyukta of Gujarat, a critical anti-corruption post that had been lying vacant since 2003. Justice R A Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June. Since Governor Beniwal had made this decision without consulting and getting the approval of the chief minister and his council of ministers, the action angered Narendra Modi and his BJP party.^[41]

This marked the beginning of a strained relationship between Modi and the Governor. On 25 September 2011, Narendra Modi accused the Governor of running a parallel government in the state supported by the Congress. He demanded that she be recalled back.^[42] He also later accused her of delaying the progress of bills by not passing them.