Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday praised Tata Group for its role in India's development.
Speaking at the Assocham Foundation Week 2020 event, Modi said in the last 100 years the industry chamber has witnessed ups and downs of India's development, including the country’s independence struggle.
"Tata Group has played an important role in India's development," Modi said after presenting the 'Assocham Enterprise of the Century Award' to Ratan Tata, marking the contribution of the business group in the nation's progress.
Speaking at the event, Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata thanked Modi for leading the country from front during the difficult time of pandemic and hoped that the industry will now take forward the benefits of his strong leadership.
"Yes there will be periods of discontent, there will be opposition, but there is never any dithering or any ... running away ... You want a lockdown, you got a lockdown, you showed the country as one that responded to shutting out of power and lights for few minutes, you made that happen.
“It's not cosmetic, it’s not showmanship, it has put the country together showing we can stand up and marshal our efforts to do what you have set ourselves to do.
"It is now our job as industry, to follow this, to show the benefits of this leadership which I am quite confident we will do," Tata said.
Thanking the Prime Minister for leading the country through this difficult period, Tata said "I think if we all stand together and follow what you have said, what you have done and what you have shown, we will have a situation where the world will look at us and say this Prime Minister said it could happen and he made it happen".
Meanwhile, salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group was among "multiple" entities that earlier this week put in preliminary bids for buying loss-making carrier Air India.