Ratan Tata's Nano Decision Shocked Us, Says Niira Radia, Explains Why He Chose Singur

Former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, in her first televised interview in over 12 years, shared insights into Ratan Tata's decision to spearhead Ratan Tata’s Nano project and why he chose West Bengal's Singur as the location for the Tata Nano manufacturing plant.

Radia, through her now-defunct Vaishnavi Communication, handled the public relations of Tata Group between 2000 and 2012. During this time, in 2008, the Ratan Tata-led conglomerate decided to launch the Tata Nano project, aiming to introduce the Rs 1-lakh car—Tata Nano.

"When it was first mentioned that Ratan Tata wanted to make a Rs 1-lakh car, we all looked at him in shock," Radia said while speaking exclusively to NDTV Profit.

She explained that Ratan Tata aimed to provide an affordable four-wheeler option for the common man. The car was intended to keep middle-class households "out of the rain."

Radia recalled that Ratan Tata deliberately chose West Bengal for setting up the Tata Nano manufacturing plant to promote industrialisation in the state.

Singur was specifically chosen because the area was represented by an opposition leader at the time, Rabindranath Bhattacharya of Trinamool Congress. "He always wanted to take everybody along with him," Radia explained.

However, the acquisition of land for the proposed project caused a political dispute led by the then-opposition leader and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. This led to the cancellation of the project, which was later moved to Gujarat's Sanand.

Radia added that if the project had proceeded in Singur, the entire road from Kolkata to Singur would have seen significant development, similar to how Sanand developed. "Today, Sanand is like Gurgaon," she remarked.