One of the world’s great business leaders, whose commitment to core values we admire, prepares to hand over the reins and talks about India and its prospects:

…I take a bite of my plum cake. Tata hasn’t touched his but sips tea quietly as I ask for his views on India and its rapid recent changes. “I feel India is a country that really has an enormous amount of potential, has the human capital to succeed. But if you sit down and say, ‘Will it succeed?’, you see imbalances.”He mentions various policy problems that hamper businesses, from energy shortages to land acquisition. Such things have been part of the reason his group has sought growth overseas, initially in Europe but, he says, in future more likely in Africa and elsewhere in Asia. “If we had the same kind of encouragement to industry … I think India could compete definitely with China,” he says. “Certainly the political system in China could get more things done than a democracy might, but given even that difference, I think that India has a big market … It has a rule of law, it has a common language. There are many, many things that stand in India’s favour.”

Our tea is now getting cold, so I ask about his own future plans. He has a reputation as a man who dedicated his life to his company; I ask if he now regrets not marrying and having a family. “They’re interrelated because, obviously, if I had a family, I could not have spent as much of my time involved with the group. And, things would be very different, in terms of eating, sleeping, living for your job,” he says. “And yet it hasn’t felt like a job. It’s been more like a personal issue. It hasn’t been for money, it hasn’t been for visibility. It’s just been the challenge and, to a great extent, the passion, in terms of how I have looked at my job.”

He is looking forward to his new role running Tata’s charitable trusts, in particular developing projects on child nutrition, clean drinking water, and low-cost housing. “I don’t intend to have an idle time,” he says. Flying is another passion, and he mentions this may also occupy him more. “I fly in the company plane. Now that will have to change,” he notes, with a rueful smile. “So I’ve been looking at probably acquiring a small single engine plane, or a helicopter to keep my love alive.

“There are things like music and painting that I used to be involved in. We always miss something that we did at one time, and haven’t had the chance to do, and those kinds of things I probably want to try to get back,” he adds.

What about his own image? “I would hope that people would say that I was able to lead the group with dignity and that I tried to do the right thing. You never succeed, having that said, because you always have upset somebody or another, but I think that’s what I would like to be remembered for.”

With this rather modest statement, he says goodbye and heads off to meet a chief executive who has been kept waiting while we finish our discussion. As I walk out, the dogs are still sprawled out in the reception. I’m told later that their future in Tata’s lobby is secure, even after the man who granted them residency departs. They are unlikely to be the only ones sad to see him leave.

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