The first time we put a Tata on the cover of India Today was in 1981. The legendary Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) was retiring as head of a Rs 2,000-crore empire. His 44-year-old nephew, the shy and reticent Ratan Naval Tata, was designated heir apparent. After over two decades, Ratan retired in December last year. As the search for his successor is on, we decided to take a look at his legacy and what the future holds for India's premier business group.

Our first Tata cover

There is little doubt that Ratan has quietly but steadfastly transformed his group. We had a taste of his style when we put him on the cover in 1997. He was then in the thick of allegations against Tata Tea by the then Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. How Ratan weathered that storm was a classic example of subtle and skilled management. More evidence of it is the way his group has grown into a Rs 50,000-crore enterprise, unique because of its diversity of businesses in an age of single-focus corporations.

It has not been easy and Ratan's success has been understated. As part of his re-engineering, he has been involved in serious bloodletting. He has seen off intense competition, tamed militant unions and dismantled vested interests. All through, he has remained reclusive and extremely simple: till a few years ago, he used to drive his own Maruti Esteem.

Senior Editor Shankkar Aiyar had the unenviable task of analysing Ratan's personality and assessing his professional acumen. In a celebrity-obsessed age, Ratan remains an anachronism-little is known about him and he likes to keep it that way. Nevertheless, Aiyar and Editor Prabhu Chawla interviewed him for 90 minutes, getting him to speak about many aspects of his life and work, from his politics to his business rivals. It's a rare interview.

No doubt Ratan, like many other Indians, will be keeping his eyes peeled on Budget 2003. Last year, we set up the Board of India Today Economists to guide us through the maze that economics often becomes. At the board's second meeting last week, we asked six leading economists to focus on taxation. Vijay Kelkar, author of the much-discussed Kelkar report, was the man in the hot seat. Our theme this time: how the finance minister can use this year's budget to make everybody richer.

Much to my surprise, there is a way.

(Aroon Purie)