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Navajbai Tata Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 29, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth23 September 1877

Age87 (at time of death)

ProfessionBusinesswoman, Philanthropist

NationalityBritish Indian (1877-1947); Indian (1947-1965)

Marital statusWidow (at time of death)

SpouseRatanji Tata

FamilyAdopted son Naval Hormusji Tata; grandson Ratan Naval Tata; members of the Tata family

Navajbai Tata Biography

Navajbai Tata (born Navajbai Sett) was a Parsi businesswoman and philanthropist who became the first woman director of Tata Sons. Wife of Ratanji Tata and祖

Early life and background

Navajbai Tata was born Navajbai Sett on 23 September 1877 into a Parsi family whose ancestors had arrived in India from Iran. She was the youngest of her siblings. At fifteen she married Ratanji Tata. The couple spent much of their married life in England and maintained social ties with the British royal household of their day.

Career

Navajbai established herself as a philanthropist and a leader in industrial and civic life. Following her husband’s death in 1918, she played an important role in the formation of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. She became the first woman director of Tata Sons in 1925 and retained that position until her death in 1965. Her salary as chairman of Tata Sons was reported in 1941 as an estimated Rs. 40,000.

Her philanthropic work extended to focused help for Parsi women. In 1928 she founded the Ratan Tata Institute (RTI) in Mumbai to provide free education, housing and employment support to women in need. She took on the role of chairperson of the institute in 1932. Navajbai was also a member of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat board and used her resources to support charitable causes, once donating her Matheran mansion “Homestead” and a cash gift to an NGO that sought her help.

Public profile

Navajbai and Ratanji Tata were collectors of art, jade and historical objects. After Ratanji’s death she donated the couple’s collection to the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai. She was known as an accomplished equestrian and was among the early Indian women to play polo.

Family

Navajbai and Ratanji did not have biological children; they adopted Naval Tata from an orphanage. Naval Tata later became a director and deputy chairman of Tata Sons. Navajbai was the grandmother of Ratan Naval Tata and also part of a wider family that includes business figures such as Noel Tata and Jimmy Naval Tata. She helped raise Ratan Tata and his brother Jimmy following Naval Tata’s divorce in 1948.

Later years and death

Navajbai remained actively involved with Tata institutions and philanthropic work through her later life. She died in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 20 August 1965 of natural, age-related causes at the age of 87.

Latest updates

Navajbai’s legacy lives on through the Ratan Tata Institute and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, as well as through the roles her descendants and adopted family members have played in the Tata Group and related enterprises.
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Recent Work

Chairperson, Ratan Tata Institute (RTI)

Led the RTI, an institute providing free education, housing and employment assistance to Parsi women; assumed the chair in 1932.

1932
Director, Tata Sons

Became the first woman director of Tata Sons in Mumbai and served from 1925 until her death in 1965.

1925-1965
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Career Highlights

  1. First woman director of Tata Sons (appointed 1925)
  2. Founder and chairperson of the Ratan Tata Institute, supporting Parsi women
  3. Played a key role in establishing the Sir Ratan Tata Trust after her husband’s death
  4. Donated a major art and jade collection to the Prince of Wales Museum
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Navajbai Tata born?

23 September 1877

What is Navajbai Tata known for?

Businesswoman, Philanthropist

What is Navajbai Tata’s marital status?

Widow (at time of death)

Who is Navajbai Tata married to?

Ratanji Tata