Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran in his year-end note has shared the ambition of creating 5 lakh manufacturing jobs over the next five years, and added that India is poised to benefit with its talent pool and rising manufacturing prowess, as the world navigates through geopolitical instability.
The note to Tata Group employees, shared on December 26, talked about 'big strategic bet' by the group in manufacturing, telecom, retail and hospitality. Construction is underway at over seven new manufacturing plants at the group, including India's first semiconductor fab in Dholera, he said. Chandrasekaran also mentioned about the electronics assembly plant in Karnataka, automotive plant in Tamil Nadu and MRO facilities in Bengaluru, and battery cell manufacturing factories in Gujarat.
The year-end note underscored the group plans to create massive jobs in not just manufacturing, but also in across retail, tech services, airlines, and hospitality.
"Our Group plans to create 500,000 manufacturing jobs over the next half decade. These will come in part from the aforementioned investments in facilities across India-factories and projects that will produce batteries, semiconductors, electric vehicles, solar equipment and other critical hardware destined to play a central role in the economy of tomorrow," said N Chandrasekaran.
The note mentions few listed companies such as TCS and Tejas Networks, which delivered an indigenous 4G mobile telecom stack for BSNL. The group's retail companies 'continue to scale up', he said, and Air India has brought together four airlines to create one integrated airline. The Taj brand under Indian Hotels continues to be the world's strongest hotel brand, he added.
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The Age of AI
He sounded extremely excited to share the prospects in digital and Al, and said a 'fundamental reversal' is taking place in the technology space. While in the past, scientific progress predominantly 'fuelled'' technological progress, Today, the opposite is happening. "...advancements in technology are leading to scientific discoveries," said Chandrasekaran. He added that the world will continue to see significant acceleration in the use of Al in fields such as healthcare and mobility.
A Manufacturing 'Golden Age' for India
Manufacturing, on the other hand, has the potential to 'transform' India's economy. Chandrasekaran said the global supply chains 'continue to shift in India's favour', as businesses strike a new balance between resilience and efficiency. "What might have seemed like a short-term reaction to the pandemic has proved much more enduring. Amid relentless geopolitical instability, the equation has tilted firmly toward resilience - and India, with our vast talent pool and growing manufacturing capacity, is poised to benefit," said Chandrasekaran.
The plan to add 5 lakh jobs over next five years 'give hope' to the one million youth entering India's workforce every month. "Manufacturing has powerful multiplier effects; indirect employment opportunities from sectors such as semiconductor manufacturing are substantial," Chandrasekaran said in the note.
What Ratan Tata Meant to the Group
Mentioning about late Ratan Tata, Chandrasekaran's note said the year will have 'deeper and more personal resonance' for everyone at the Group. "There isn't room in this letter to capture fully what he meant to us, not even amongst the many tributes we have seen across the world. So I will simply say again that our Group has lost an irreplaceable role model and leader. And I have lost a cherished mentor and friend," Chandrasekaran wrote in his note.
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Tata Group chairman ended the letter on an optimistic note. "After a year marked by loss, it is with a sense of hope and optimism that I look ahead to 2025." The economy is strong, he said, and the demographics are in India's favour. This pool of young talent will will build the nation's future 'literally, with their hands and with their minds.'
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