After celebrating his 70th birthday yesterday, Ratan Tata would in the normal course of affairs be facing mandatory retirement from the Tata Group. Two years ago, however, India's most respected and acquisitive conglomerate ex-tended to 75 the age until which non-executive directors could serve, giving the man who has transformed it over the past 16 years a new lease at its helm. Although corporate governance purists at the time criticised the change as retrograde, it is a decision that few investors now regret.

Mr Tata will be one of the most visible faces of the new India in 2008. He was yesterday waiting to hear whether Tata Motors, a truckmaker that has diversified into passenger cars, had been successful in its offer for Jaguar and Land Rover, luxury brands put up for sale by Ford. In the wake of this year's audacious $13bn (£6.5bn) purchase of Corus by Tata Steel, the Indian company's bid for these two prestige marques has again highlighted the risk-taking verve of one of India's most ambitious corporate empire builders.