In letter to staff, Tata boss Chandrasekaran notes two landmark stories of 2023

India’s trailblazing lunar mission and the Indian cricket team’s journey in the World Cup stood out as landmark stories in the year gone by, Tata group chairman N. Chandrasekaran said in an address to employees.

In a year of encouraging news for India, two stories stood out, Chandrasekaran said in his New Year message to Tata employees.

“The first was our trailblazing lunar mission, in which we became the first nation to successfully land a craft on the south pole of the moon,” the Tata group boss wrote.

“This incredible feat, achieved with a modest investment of only ₹600 crore, won admiration at home and abroad, and offered a timely demonstration of what our nation can do. Often, we talk in excited terms about India’s future. But this was a vivid reminder of how far we have already come,” he added.

“The second is the Indian cricket team’s journey in the World Cup. I know the loss in the final was enormously disappointing. Like many Indians, I have great memories of the World Cup wins in 1983 and 2011, and huge admiration for the XIs led by Kapil and Dhoni. But the cricket played by Rohit’s team on the way to the final was more clinical than anything I have seen. The confidence and attitude was contagious, and a wonderful lesson in the value of resilience, preparation, mental strength and collaboration,” Chandrasekaran said.

Looking ahead to the New Year, Chandrasekaran emphasized the need for the group to brace itself for more disruption and volatility in 2024.

“The complexity of global governance will reach new heights as the world finds new rules to protect data privacy, curb inflation, reduce carbon emissions and perceptions of AI risk. Geopolitics is also a potential source of volatility. 2024 is a year of elections, with 40 nations heading to the polls,” Chandrasekaran said.

But while the near-term global outlook feels shadowed with uncertainty, India’s future is bright, he pointed out.

“In 2023, we fared better than most. We showed admirable leadership at a historic G20 summit. Our economy is thriving, with GDP on track to double to $7 trillion over the next five years. And I am certain that India is poised to benefit from the aforementioned shifts transforming the world. Generative AI, for example, is a potential antidote to our access and inequality problems—provided we are careful and introduce the right rules,” Chandrasekaran said.

The Tata group chairman also highlighted three areas to prioritize in the New Year.

“First: execution. Now that we know what we have to do, and our plans have momentum, we need to think hard about how we can execute flawlessly and with speed. Second: customer satisfaction. The next decade will belong to companies who excel in giving customers excellent experiences. With our growing footprint in consumer businesses, we have to bring empathy to every interaction—be that in Air India, Tata Motors or Titan. Brand Tata must be recognizable across all companies,” he wrote.

“Third: technology. Our group’s aim should not be merely to adopt, or adapt to, technology. We need to shape it, and make it. This New Year, I urge each company to appoint an AI champion to proactively pursue the benefits of AI—economically, operationally and socially,” he added.