Ratan is different from Jeh in that he prevails through the dignity and good manners of his proponents. He makes an enormous contribution in helping us understand the challenges and opportunities of Indian business and, in this sense, his role is more important than that of his predecessor, not because of personal qualities alone but because the significance of India in international affairs and international politics has grown to such a phenomenal extent.

As for his contribution to the Tata group, I am no expert on this, but my impression is that he has made it a truly international conglomerate. Tata has been a dominant name in India for long years, but under Ratan’s leadership it has become a global player through its acquisitions in different countries. Tata has become a factor in influencing global economic thought.

I rate Ratan in the very top group, the upper 2%, of business people I have known. That is because of this combination he has, of thoughtfulness, patience, farsightedness, extraordinary good manners and absolute personal reliability. When Ratan promises something, you can take it as done, you can count on it. Ratan does not dominate a room when he walks into it — Jeh did that — but once he starts expressing himself, you begin to feel the scope of his influence.

Indian business organisations such as Tata now have so much more opportunities. They used to be primarily concerned with operating in a protected market, but today they can enter the international scene, and they can go there as representatives of a democratic, stable country, of a country that will have an increasingly important role to play in the development of the world. This is quite a different country from the isolationist India that existed in the early decades following independence. And India has the advantage of the English language on its side; when I go to India, I am impressed by the articulateness with which Indians present their views.

I think there is a metaphorical shift of gravity happening; the centre of the world is moving from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The fact that emerging countries are playing such a crucial part in the world economy will translate into more opportunities for Indian enterprises. To a much greater extent from here on, the centre of global economic activity will move up away from the Atlantic; America will participate in this as a Pacific nation more than as an Atlantic entity.

For India, managing the expectations of all of its people will become more complex. Second, India has through its history existed in a dangerous neighbourhood. If one considers the development all around India and at the fringes of the country, and of the impact that they have on each other, there could be situations in which the environment becomes difficult. But I expect these periods to be brief; I don’t see any threat that India would not be able to handle.

Coming back to Ratan, on every one of my visits to India since I have known him, he has seen to it that I get to meet the most diverse and interesting collection of people, men and women who can teach me something about India. This is not part of Ratan’s business; it is part of his friendship. As both an Indian patriot and as a friend, he has been indispensable.

Ratan has a lot of interest in art, some in politics, but I cannot separate him from business. What I learned from Jeh is that business was his personal evocation, an ethical responsibility. Ratan, too, has become so infused into the spirit of Tata that I cannot see him in any other image. Tata is the ethical, the spiritual, the central component of everything that he does.

It has been a pleasure to express my views on Ratan in this fashion because he is somebody I really care about. I am very proud to be his friend.