Research and Development in Tata steel—The Past, the Present and the Future

Tata Steel had always been the beacon of technology advancement in the country. In a country where investment in industrial research has not been readily available, Tata Steel has been a remarkable exception. The path towards research and development in Tata Steel can roughly be broken down into three parts. In its early years, i.e. till the Second World War, Tata Steel was involved in the development of rail steel grades and steels for armour application and bridge construction. From then till the end of 1990s, the Jamshedpur R&D centre firmly upheld the business in improving yield at different phases of operations and in advancing new products for the Indian market to suit the production process. At the turn of the millennium, with rapidly changing internal and external environment, Tata Steel R&D outfitted to meet the strategic objectives of the organization for sustained differentiation at market place and value creation for stakeholders. This paper outlines Tata Steel’s glorious and gritty research and development saga.