Tata [key], Parsi family of Indian industrialists, centered at Mumbai. The Tata enterprises, which encompass vast holdings in iron and steel, motor vehicles, power utilities, financial services, computer software and services, chemicals, textiles, telecommunications, and other businesses, were founded by Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata (1839–1904), who accumulated a fortune from his textile mill at Nagpur. At Jamshedpur (named for the founder) his successors built (1911) the first steel mill in India. Eventually it became the largest in the British Empire. The family has contributed funds to the Institute of Science at Bengaluru (Bangalore), beautified and developed the city of Mumbai (Bombay), and supported the economic growth of independent India.
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