When Keshub Mahindra and Ratan Tata shared a table at key government panel

Ratan Tata and Keshub Mahindra attend a meeting of Indian industrialists at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence in New Delhi on July 20, 2006.

Keshub Mahindra, the 99-year-old billionaire who died on Wednesday, had once shared a table with legendary industrialist Ratan Tata at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Council of Trade and Industry in 2006.

The late industrialist, who was also Anand Mahindra's uncle and predecessor, was inducted into the council in 2004. The panel was scheduled to meet once in three months for policy dialogue with the Prime Minister in matters related to trade and industry.

Other members of the 21-member council included corporate leaders such as Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, RP Goenka, Sunil Mittal, Deepak Parekh, and Jamshed Godrej.

Keshub Mahindra, the former chairman of the Mahindra Group, was given a three-year extension at 86. Interestingly, in 2011 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement, he dismissed suggestions to continue at the helm of the conglomerate for another term.

Responding to a shareholder’s suggestion at the annual general meeting of Tata Consultancy Services to emulate Keshub Mahindra and extend his term as chairman, Ratan Tata said, “I am not Mr Mahindra. Please let me enjoy my life as I want to.”

Interestingly, a year prior, in 2010, Keshub Mahindra resigned from the Prime Minister's council after being convicted in the Bhopal gas case. He was the former chairman of Union Carbide and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Mahindra had also recently re-entered the Forbes list of India’s Richest Billionaires for 2023. He was a philanthropist and also contributed to the cause of building ethical corporations in India and was a part of many prestigious organisations and committees.

Read more: Keshub Mahindra, former chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, passes away