Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the funeral of veteran industrialist Ratan Naval Tata in Mumbai on Thursday, who represents the government of India, according to sources. Shah will pay respects to Tata’s remains on behalf of the government as Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Laos to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits.

Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group who transformed the company into India’s largest and most influential conglomerate, has died at the age of 86. He breathed his last at Breach Candy Hospital in South Mumbai at 11.30 pm on Wednesday after being hospitalized. intensive care since Monday.

A recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, Tata was known for his visionary leadership and a series of high-profile deals that reshaped the group. During his more than twenty years as chairman, he led the group through a period of remarkable growth, acquiring major international companies such as British steel manufacturer Corus and luxury car brands Jaguar Land Rover.

Prime Minister Modi paid tribute to Tata in a post on X, calling him “a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being.” Modi highlighted Tata’s contributions beyond the business world, praising his “humility, kindness and unwavering commitment to making our society better.”

Mumbai Police was the first to report Tata’s death, which was later confirmed by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group, who described Tata as “a truly unusual leader whose immeasurable contributions have not only shaped the Tata Group, but also the fabric of our nation.”

Educated at Cornell University, Ratan Tata started his career in the workplace of Tata Group companies after returning to India in 1962. He gained experience at several of the group’s companies before becoming director of National Radio and Electronics Co. in 1971. He became chairman of Tata Industries in 1981 and took over the management of the Tata Group from his uncle, JRD Tata, in 1991.

Under Tata’s leadership, the conglomerate expanded significantly and branched out into various sectors such as steel, energy, software and aviation. It introduced India’s first super app, focused on chip manufacturing and plans to open an iPhone assembly plant. The group’s revenue last fiscal year was $165 billion.