Niira Radia breaks silence on Ratan Tata, recalls incident from pre-Nano days

Niira Radia, the former corporate lobbyist whose leaked telephone calls with politicians, journalists and business tycoons brought the 2G spectrum scam to light nearly 15 years ago, spoke out on Ratan Tata days after the death of the industrialist.
Radia, who has been away from the spotlight, spoke with NDTV Profit as she remembered working with Ratan Tata who died last Wednesday at the age of 86.
She opened up about the time Ratan Tata spoke about his mission for the Tata Nano project.
“When this first thing was mentioned that I (Ratan Tata) want to make a ₹1 lakh car, we all looked at him in shock,” Radia told NDTV Profit in the interview, teasers of which were shared on social media.
The Tata Group discontinued the production of Nano cars in 2018.
Radia, who set up the now-defunct Vaishnavi Communication, had many high-profile clients, including Tata Group. In 2001, she bagged all 90 Tata Group accounts.
Radia’s conversation with several politicians, journalists and business tycoons, including Ratan Tata, got leaked in 2010, unravelling the 2G scam.
Radia also recalled an incident when she was with Ratan Tata and other top Tata executives at a mall in Dubai. A man who owned a Tata Indica approached Tata and said he loved the car.
“This gentleman in Dubai came up to him in the mall. He said, ‘Sir, sir I have an Indica’. He (Tata) looked at me thinking somebody is going to complain. But the gentleman said, ‘I love your car. I bought a Tata car’.”
“He loved shaking hands, he shook his hands. The joy on his face was so amazing. He (Tata) said to me, ‘See they like it. Others may have a comment, but they like it’,” Radia said.
(Also Read: Ratan Tata’s portrait made of diamonds wins internet: ‘Tribute a work of art, just like his legacy’)
Niira Radia was born in Kenya and did her schooling and college in the UK. She moved to London from Kenya in the 1970s and attended the elite Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in northern London. Following this, she enrolled at the University of Warwick.
She was married to Gujarati-origin UK businessman Janak Radia. She moved to India in the nineties after they got divorced.
She started off as Sahara liaison officer and soon became India representative of Singapore Airlines, KLM, UK Air. It is during this time she forged her powerful contacts in the civil aviation ministry, the government and the media.
In 2001, she set up Vaishnavi Communications, followed by Noesis, Victom and Neucom Consulting.