Ratan Tata no more; Business titan dead at 86

In a tweet grieving his demise, Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, confirmed his death.

Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata died at a Mumbai hospital late on Wednesday night, a top police official told PTI. The chairman emeritus of the Tata group was 86. 

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, in a statement, confirmed the death of Tata, and described him as his "friend, mentor and guide".

For the past few days, he was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai. Billionaire Harsh Goenka also tweeted about Tata's demise, calling him a "titan".

He wrote, "The clock has stopped ticking. The Titan passes away. #RatanTata was a beacon of integrity, ethical leadership and philanthropy, who has imprinted an indelible mark on the world of business and beyond. He will forever soar high in our memories. R.I.P"

Tata, who was 86, ran Tata Sons for more than 20 years and is credited with expanding and diversifying the company, had said on Monday he was undergoing routine medical investigations due to his age and related medical conditions.

In a statement published on his social media profiles on Monday, Tata said he remained in good spirits and that there was no cause for concern.

Tata was not as active in the day-to-day running of the group as he used to be, but was consulted on big decisions by the Tata Sons leadership.

He was, however, involved in the running of Tata Trusts, a philanthropic organisation run by the group, of which he was the chairman.

Tata became chairman of the autos to steel conglomerate in 1991 and ran the group founded by his great-grandfather more than a hundred years ago until 2012.

He founded telecommunications company Tata Teleservices in 1996 and took IT company Tata Consultancy Services public in 2004.

(With Reuters and PTI inputs)