I’ve always found him to be a thorough gentleman. He is not a loudmouth, unlike many industrialists. He invariably conducts himself with dignity, but though soft spoken, he puts across his point firmly and effectively. He is a person who knows his stuff.

Our acquaintance was not personal in nature. However, I knew him well through our interaction at various official fora. Besides inviting him over for pre-Budget discussions when I was finance minister, I also met him during the meetings of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, of which he was a member.

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As finance minister, I took a great deal of interest in the automobile sector. Tata gave me valuable inputs on tax-related issues for the industry and made very important and valuable points on the manner in which demand could be raised.

The House of Tatas is generally considered conservative, and Ratan Tata did not give an impression to the contrary. Aggression is a more recent attribute of Tata. It is born out of developments in India and also the global scenario, both of which have completely transformed in the last few years.

Ratan Tata has been witness to what other Indians and Indian companies have been doing to expand their businesses abroad. Once again, my congratulations to him and the House of Tata.

—The author is a former finance minister and external affairs minister of India