Dear Chandra,

It saddens me to learn of the passing of Ratan. He was a visionary business leader instrumental to India’s growth journey and economic opening to the world, steering the Tata Group to global success just as India embarked on economic liberalisation. He was also a philanthropist improving lives for many across India and globally. For his contributions, he was conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, by the President of India in 2008. He was a very dear friend of Temasek.

Ratan was a founding member of the Temasek International Panel (TIP) in 2004 just as we were expanding our focus in India and opening an office in Mumbai. He was generous with his time, serving on TIP for more than ten years and as a founding Trustee of Temasek Trust from 2007 to 2017. I treasured learning from Ratan and remember fondly each of these occasions, be it at the annual TIP meetings in Singapore or during our visits to India including recently in August 2022 when he hosted us at his home.

Our longstanding friendship and partnership extended to business opportunities for both Temasek and our portfolio companies. Some of our initial investments in India included Tata Consultancy Services in 2004, Tata Teleservices in 2006 and Tata Sky (now Tata Play) in 2007, as part of our focus on emerging Asia. Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons established Vistara, which started operations in 2015 and is in the process of merging with Air India. Ratan identified sectors impacted by long-term structural trends, including healthcare and alternative energies, and was an early backer of many of India’s most successful startups; several including Ola Electric and Lenskart are part of Temasek’s portfolio.

Ratan’s passing is a great loss both to India and the global community. We will miss his friendship and remember his invaluable contributions. We will continue to be inspired by his legacy, as both Tata Group and Temasek work for long-term stakeholder value creation and contribute to the uplifting of the communities we operate.

Our deepest condolences to Tata Group and Ratan’s family.

Yours sincerely,
Lim Boon Heng