Chandrasekaran lays out plan for India's growth, AI-first approach, and Tata's road to 2026

N Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group, in his New Year’s message, has said that India’s economic growth continues to stand out, and that the country's well on the path to becoming the world’s third-largest economy this decade.

In his assessment of the year 2025, Chandra says that while there was progress, heightened geopolitical tensions created more operational challenges, the technology advanced faster than regulators could keep up with. Remembering the deadly crash of Air India flight in Ahmedabad this year, Chandra said the devastation wrought by the crash of Air India 171 affected everyone. 

Highlighting his last year’s New Year letter, Chandra said he talked about the coming golden age in Indian manufacturing, and that now India has made great strides in advanced manufacturing, from the opening of precision manufacturing facilities to making iPhones to the final assembly of C-295 defence aircraft. “Ten of these factories are new builds. We are building six more, including a semiconductor fab in Dholera and gigafactories in Sanand, Gujarat, and in Somerset, UK. All of our new factories are designed to be AI-first.”

Citing an example of strong commitment to sustainability, Chandra said Tata Motors marked a milestone of 2,50,000 EV cars running on Indian roads, representing 66% of EVs in India. “Tata Steel will also commence producing green steel in India in the coming year.”

He said Tata Motors CV’s largest acquisition to date, of Iveco, positions it among the top four players globally. “There was also Tata Capital’s successful public listing. Trent crossed the 1,000 stores milestone while Indian Hotels climbed above 600 sites.”

Talking about Tata’s AI investments, Chandra said the company announced a 1GW AI data centre, and that  TCS is making shifts toward becoming the world’s largest AI-led technology services company. “We are also investing in building AI data models, which will be rich in India-specific and industry-specific data.”

Talking about data, AI infrastructure, and applications’ need to come together, Chandra said this becomes a huge opportunity for Tata as a large group, as it builds an AI-led culture; redefines a Bridgital approach with a human + AI model; builds a future-ready talent model; develops industry-tailored data, AI infra and applications; and collaborates across institutions.

He also remembered the hack at JLR this autumn, emphasising that while growth is a focus, resilience has to be a long-term theme, whether it is from a value chain point of view or from a technological angle.

Looking ahead, Chandra said Tata will set strong targets and meet them through commitments and building processes and systems that allow for consistent performance. “This will be vital for all our companies in 2026.”

Other areas that companies need to focus on are “teamwork” and “risks”. “Decades in the corporate world have taught me that teamwork beats talent every time...when volatility is constant, caution can be tempting. And let’s be willing to invest in brilliant research and scholarship, even when it takes time to bear fruit.”