In 2002, while working on a Hotel Project, the concept of a “Budget Hotel” struck my mind. I worked out certain attributes and characteristics for this concept and put forward in my Project Report. Three years later the Tatas formed a separate company for Budget Hotels in 2004 and started their Budget Hotel in the name of “Ginger Hotels” in 2005 which was the first in India.
During my childhood (in the sixties), I was wondering if we could combine the comfort of a car and the power of a Jeep. There used to be one “Station Wagon” model that time, but it was just a jeep with doors- not much comfort. Later, over the years (in the eighties in India), came the concept of SUV (Sports & Utility Vehicles). Now we have several of models to choose from.
In 2007 the Tatas came up with their cheapest Car model Nano. This car was a dream project for Mr R N Tata as well as the company, which they nourished since the Nineties. Though it was an extraordinary feat, the model couldn’t sustain commercially or technically for a long time, even with heavy promotion.
In 2007 itself I had predicted its commercial and technical failure and wrote blogs. Today, it no longer remains the cheapest car, and people now know how much the company spent / subsidised for the cheapest car. Ever heard the adage, “To keep Gandhiji poor the Britishers used to spend a lot of money”?
