The Creation of Wealth Quotes

“There is one kind of charity common enough among us, and which is certainly a good thing, though I do not think it the best thing we can have. It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes the ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick and halts. I am far from decrying the noble spirit which seeks to help a poor or suffering fellow-being. But charities of the hospital and poor asylum kind are comparatively more common and fashionable among us Parsis. What advances a nation or community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members as to lift up the best and most gifted so as to make them of the greatest service to the country. I prefer this constructive philanthropy which seeks to educate and develop the faculties of the best of our young men.”
― R.M. Lala, The Creation of wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century

“Ratan Tata speaks of JRD’s business ethics. One of India’s best known tax consultants, Dinesh Vyas, says that JRD never entered into a debate between ‘tax avoidance’ which was permissible and ‘tax evasion’ which was illegal; his sole motto was ‘tax compliance’. On one occasion a senior executive of a Tata company tried to save on taxes. Before putting up that case, the chairman of the company took him to JRD. Dinesh Vyas explained to JRD: ‘But Sir, it is not illegal.’ Softly JRD said: ‘Not illegal, yes. But is it right?’ Vyas says not in his decades of professional work had anyone ever asked him that question. Vyas later wrote in an article, ‘JRD would have been the most ardent supporter of the view expressed by Lord Denning: “The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue.”
― R.M. Lala, The Creation of wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century

“Over 70 per cent of the medium and heavy commercial vehicles on Indian roads are made by Telco. Telco is able to manufacture 99.8 per cent of its parts in India. A family of 1,500 ancillary suppliers furnish all kinds of components. About 50 per cent of the parts that go into the trucks are supplied by them. Over the years each supplier has been trained by Telco engineers to provide the high quality of components required. For several years such was the demand for Telco trucks that they commanded a premium price in the market but Telco held its price line. I once questioned then chairman and managing director of Telco, Mr Moolgaokar, why he did that. He replied: ‘Profits should come from productivity and not by raising prices in a favourable market. Our greatest asset is customer affection.”
― R.M. Lala, The Creation of wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century