Ratan Tata turned a family conglomerate into a tiger. He will be a hard act to follow

IF INDIA were a nation of gamblers, the betting on who will succeed Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, would be furious. On August 4th Tata Sons, the holding company for one of India’s biggest conglomerates, announced that it was seeking Mr Tata’s replacement when he retires in 2012 at the age of 75. Since then speculation has been rife. Will the board pick a younger relative, as so many Indian companies do? Or will the group confine its search to the tiny, commercially successful Parsi community to which the Tatas belong? Will Mr Tata’s successor even be an Indian? Unusually for India, the panel picking the new boss says it will consider foreigners.

The succession has seized the attention of India’s fast-growing middle class because they see Tata products wherever they look. The 142-year-old group makes everything from salt to cars (see chart). It has also become a symbol of India’s growing might. Last year 65% of its revenues of $70.8 billion came from abroad. On a recent visit to India, Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, noted that Tata was now Britain’s biggest manufacturer. Its transformation into a world-beater is largely due to Mr Tata’s two decades of bold leadership. ...