New Delhi: Dr Jamshed J Irani, also known as the Steel Man of India, breathed his last in Jamshedpur on Monday night. He was 86.
“The Steel Man of India passes away. It is with profound grief that Tata Steel informs of the demise of Padma Bhushan Dr Jamshed J Irani,” Tata Steel said in a statement.
As per reports, Dr Irani passed away on October 31, 2022 at 10 PM at TMH (Tata Hospital) in Jamshedpur.
Born on June 2, 1936 in Nagpur to Jiji Irani and Khorshed Irani, Dr Irani completed his BSc from Science College, Nagpur in 1956 and MSc in Geology from the Nagpur University in 1958. He then went to the University of Sheffield in UK as a J N Tata scholar, where he secured a Masters in Metallurgy in 1960, and a PhD in Metallurgy in 1963.
Dr Irani started his professional career with the British Iron and Steel Research Association in Sheffield in 1963, but always yearned to contribute to the Nation’s progress. He then returned to India to join The Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel), as it was then known, in 1968, and joined the firm as Assistant to the Director in-charge of Research and Development.
Dr Irani became General Superintendent in 1978, General Manager in 1979, and President of Tata Steel in 1985. He became Joint Managing Director of Tata Steel in 1988, and Managing Director in 1992 before retiring in 2001. He joined the Board of Tata Steel in 1981 and was also a Non-Executive Director from 2001 for a decade.
Besides Tata Steel and Tata Sons, Dr Irani also served as a Director of several Tata Group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Teleservices.
Dr Irani is survived by his wife Daisy Irani and his three children, Zubin, Niloufer, and Tanaaz.