Jacqueline is in India under a unique internship initiative, the Tata International Social Entrepreneurship Scheme (Tises), which catapults foreign students into the thick of the Tata group’s numerous corporate sustainability projects.

This is unlike any other corporate internships—within the Group or elsewhere. Most such programmes mainly chaperone students through shop-floors and business processes. Here, the focus is on the Tata Group’s involvement—in myriad ways—with rural communities. “We want to highlight the Tata way of doing things,” says R Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons, the Group’s holding company. Various trusts endowed by Tata family members control 66% of Tata Sons. A bulk of the profits it makes are thus channelled back through community initiatives.

The Tises programme first helps European and US citizens understand the Indian social and cultural milieu. It also helps them appreciate and propagate the Tata tradition of giving back to society.

The traditions of the Tatas were an eye-opener for the likes of Jacqueline. She was actively involved with the public health initiatives of the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) in Badaun. Emmi Luisa Beck, also from Berkeley, had a similar experience. She familiarised herself with the vocational training programmes undertaken by the Taj Fisherman’s Cove hotel in Tamil Nadu’s Kovalam village.

Emmi was impressed by the hotel’s “holistic approach” to vocational training, which also embraces life-coping skills. But she feels the programme would be better if there is greater emphasis on training women.

Jacqueline saw for herself how Tata Chemicals is driving a health project that focuses on reducing the maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. In the villages of Gunnour block in UP, for instance, a majority of child births—59.2%—now take place under trained midwives. Six years ago only 6.8% of them did. Use of modern family-planning methods has gone up from 9.1% to 23.7%.

A Group Imperative

The inevitability of an initiative like Tises stared the Group in the face as it went on a $25-billion-plus acquisition spree abroad. Major buyouts in recent years include Tata Tea’s takeover of UK’s Tetley; Tata Steel’s acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch Corus; Tata Motors’ high-decibel acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover; Tata Chemicals’ buyout of General Chemicals; and Tata Coffee’s takeover of Eight O’ Clock Coffee.

“The companies we have acquired come from a society where their function is to maximise profits for shareholders,” explains Gopalakrishnan. “It’s strange to a Westerner for a company to be doing the things we are doing.” It became imperative for the Group to spread awareness about its value system and also instill and integrate these values in the companies it acquired. Tises is one of its many tools for the purpose.

When the initiative was being formulated by the Tata top-brass early last year, a big bang approach was contemplated. The Group toyed with the idea of creating an Indian Volunteer Service. This was akin to the Peace Corps, crafted by late US President John F Kennedy in the early 1960s. To this day, the Peace Corps takes American youngsters to all parts of the world.

Many past Peace Corps volunteers are big names in the US today. They include Robert Haas, Chairman of Levi Strauss; Taylor Hackford, Hollywood producer; Paul Theroux, author; and Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, the environmental group.

“We have now decided to start small and expand slowly,” says Gopalakrishnan. “In the years to come, we will create an influential alumni of at least 2,000, in business, politics and government; a set of people who understands India better.” They will be lifelong ambassadors of the Tata group.

Last year, the Tata brand was valued at $11.8 billion by Brand Finance, a brand valuation company, and was ranked 57th in the world. The brand is on an upswing in foreign markets. Tises will help the Group add spit and polish.