Dr. J. J. Irani given emotional farewell as dignitaries line up to pay tributes

Cremation takes place at Bistupur Parvati Ghat

Jamshedpur: Dr. J J Irani, the former MD of Tata Steel, was given an emotional last farewell by his family and friends in Jamshedpur. His dead body was cremated at Parvati Ghat at Bistupur. He had breathed his last at TMH Monday night.

Hundreds of people and almost all eminent personalities of the city thronged his residence to pay their respects and tributes to Dr. Irani.

Dr. J J Irani was popularly known as the Steel Man of India. His demise Monday night sent a wave of mourning in the corporate world. He was 86 years old.

On Tuesday, the last rites were performed at Parvati Ghat in Bistupur.

Before this, his residence was visited by most of the VIPs and well-known personalities who all gathered there to have a last glimpse of his body.

Dr. Irani is survived by his wife and three children.

He is credited for ably leading Indian steel industry in the era of economic liberalization.

He will be remembered as a visionary leader who led Tata Steel during India’s economic liberalization in the early 1990s and contributed immensely to the growth and development of the steel industry in India.

Dr. Irani was the first leader of the quality movement in India.

He enabled Tata Steel to become the world’s lowest cost steel producer with a focus on quality and customer satisfaction, to compete in the international market.

He was instrumental in launching Tata Education Excellence Program in 2003 to improve academic quality through a calibrated approach adopted from the renowned Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria.

The state health minister Banna Gupta, the former Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Tata Steel’s Managing Director T V Narendran were among those who paid their last respects to Dr. Irani before his body was taken to Parvati Ghat for cremation.

T V Narendran, the CEO & MD of Tata Steel, in his message, said: “Dr Irani transformed Tata Steel in the nineties and made us one of the lowest cost steel producers in the World . He helped build a strong foundation on which we grew in the subsequent decades. He was one of the pioneers of the TQM movement in the country. He led with courage and conviction and was a role model and mentor for many in Tata Steel then and now. The employees of Tata Steel past and present are indebted to his leadership during turbulent times.”

Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons’ in his condolence message on Dr. Jamshed J Irani’s demise said: “Dr J J Irani was a quintessential Tata man. He was a towering corporate personality whose contribution to the steel industry was immense. Dr Irani will be deeply missed by all of us at Tata Group and we pray for his departed soul.”

Mr B Muthuraman, Former Vice Chairman, Tata Steel in his message said: “Dr Jamshed. Irani is one of the key personalities who helped to build the foundation of Indian Industry, in the post liberalisation era of India. He, as the Managing Director of Tata Steel from 1992 and Ratan Tata who became the chairman of Tata Steel less than a year later are the founders of the “New Tata Steel” post the economic liberalisation of India in 1991.”

Mr. Muthuraman added: “By 1991, long years of administrative control by the Government under its socialist philosophy of governance had resulted in Tata Steel being flabby, technologically outdated , with high operating costs, products not aligned to market needs and with very little customer and market orientation . World renowned consultants labelled Tata Steel as “uncompetitive and unsustainable“. In merely ten years time, between 1992 and 2001, Irani, with support and guidance from Ratan Tata, effected a total transformation of Tata Steel, in all its areas of operations and business. It became the lowest cost producer of steel in the world, by 2001. It replaced many old technologies with new technologies and equipment.”

He said: “I will miss my boss of the times of transformation of Tata Steel. Tata Steel will miss his sage advice. The people of Jamshedpur, of whom he had become an integral part, will miss his presence in their midst.