Ratan Tata, who died on Oct. 9 at the age of 86, held a unique place in India’s business pantheon. Part industrial titan, part venerated secular saint, his ability to combine global success with a reputation for ethical probity was seen to represent the best of the country’s business culture. Yet as India’s commercial scene grew ever more rapacious and its burgeoning band of billionaires ever wealthier, Tata often looked less like the leading representative of modern Indian capitalism and more like a singular exception to it. Teasing lessons from his career for India’s future is therefore complex. There are some, however, that the country would be wise to follow, especially as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to move forward with plans to build a successful middle-income economy over the coming decade.

Tata was picked to lead his family’s business empire back in 1991, the year of India’s own economic reopening after decades of socialist planning, taking over as chair of Tata Sons, the holding company that runs the sprawling Tata Group conglomerate. In his first decade at the helm, he won admirers for rationalizing a group that had grown unfocused during India’s socialist years, churning out steel, chemicals, cars, tea, and more. But it was his second decade that won his reputation, as he launched a bold global expansion, snapping up trophy assets such as steel company Corus in 2007 and Jaguar Land Rover one year later. Under his leadership, the Tata Group transformed from a staid, conservative Indian concern into a bold experiment in globalization, becoming an emblem of India’s own growing global ambitions in the