From BigBasket to Tata Neu, how Ratan Tata's vision paved way for digital India

Ratan Tata – the chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, business tycoon, and philanthropist – was put to rest on Thursday evening after his demise on Wednesday night. As tributes for one of India’s most-loved industrialists pour in, his admirers, including the world’s most famous industrialists, have come together to remember his contributions to the country’s technological development. It was his willpower to give India’s tech ecosystem a facelift that led to the launch of the country’s first online grocer BigBasket, while his urge to scale up the development gave birth to the country’s first super-app called Tata Neu.

BigBasket was launched by Tata Digital as India’s first online grocery platform in 2011. Its initial operations spanned eight cities, but with his acumen, Ratan Tata propelled the expansion through the acquisition of a hyperlocal delivery company called Delyver. By the middle of 2016, BigBasket became India’s biggest online grocery service, allowing users buy vegetables, fruits, and other daily products with a click of a button. By 2019, BigBasket expanded into 25 cities and became a unicorn after a $300 million funding round, led by China’s behemoth Alibaba Group. As the demand grew, BigBasket saw an upsurge of new rivals, but Tata’s sharp understanding of the market gave impetus to the service’s growth, which ended up with a valuation of $3.2 billion at the end of January 2023.

BigBasket is now one of the leading hyperlocal and quick-commerce services, delivering a range of products – including the iPhone 16 – in several Indian cities.

Under the stewardship of Ratan Tata, the Tata Group announced a new multi-purpose app called Tata Neu. It was India’s first “super app” as it combined the services of different apps for daily groceries, beauty products, digital payments, electronics, and a lot more. Tata Neu was launched in 2022, and while it suffered a series of unfortunate events like the departure of high-profile executives, the app took off with millions of downloads.

Ratan Tata left a profound impact on India’s technology ecosystem through his well-aligned investments and launches that hit the right chord with consumers.