TURNING TATA INTO A MULTINATIONAL: A LONG-TERM PROCESS

Abstract

The Indian economy has experienced remarkable growth in the past two decades. The rise
of big business and its expansion outside India are certainly the most explicit manifestation
of this dynamism. The Tata group is perhaps the most brilliant illustration of this trend. This
group, created in the 19th century, truly became multinational by the end of the next century.
Through the study of its evolution and its relationship with the Indian State, this article will
show that Tata’s multinationalisation was the result not simply of India’s 1991 reforms, but
also of long-term strategies which enabled the group to access international markets.