The Tatas enjoy immense goodwill in India, partly due to their philanthropic work. The Tata Trusts, which engages in philanthropic activities, holds 66% of the equity of Tata Sons', and dividends are used to support the trusts' work.

Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Ratan Tata—a former chairman of Tata Group who led the Indian megacompany through multiple significant international acquisitions—died at age 86, the group announced Wednesday. Tata took over the conglomerate in 1991 and led it for 21 years.