Mumbai, Feb. 7 :    Mumbai, Feb. 7:  The Tata group, long identified with quotidian items like steel, salt and tea, is changing - from being a 124-year-old leviathan into a technology-driven powerhouse. At the heart of that makeover is a high-stakes incursion into the new economy. Ironically, it is the old warhorses, like Tata Power and Tata Steel, along with holding company Tata Sons, that are spearheading the Rs 41, 300-crore giant into uncharted waters. The buyout of VSNL has added Rs 7,966 crore to the topline - which is almost 15 per cent of the group turnover - and changed the way it makes money. The acquisition will help the Tatas expand their fledgling communication and information businesses to a level where their contribution to the turnover will be the same as traditional interests of materials (steel) and engineering. At present, steel accounts for 24 per cent of the turnover, engineering (Telco) 29 per cent, chemicals 10 per cent and consumer products 7 per cent; services and communications contribute 11 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. The group has lined up massive investments in new-economy ventures, but has hardly set aside anything for its steel business, except for a planned titanium project. In Panatone Finvest, the special purpose vehicle created to acquire VSNL, Tata Power and Tata Sons will be the main shareholders; Tisco will be a marginal investor. Money made from the communications and information systems businesses will more than double after the acquisition of VSNL. The growth will be fuelled by the launch of broad-band and basic services. Energy is another area in which the group sees a lot of promise, and has major investments lined up for it. Among them is the planned bid for Enron's controlling stake in Dabhol Power project in Maharashtra. Consumer products are turning out as a good bet too: Tetley's acquisition - and its ongoing integration - will raise the proportion Tata Tea contributes to the group turnover over the next few years. Services, embodied by Indian Hotels (Taj Group), are also expected to set the cash registers at Bombay House ringing. In the past couple of years, the group has embraced sweeping restructuring plans that included discarding companies like cement major ACC and Forbes Gokak, the textile outfit that did not fit into the new scheme of things. It has not passed up an opportunity to add to its sprawl of 80 diversified companies either, using them to pursue new business opportunities spawned by developments in technology. The acquisitions of government-owned CMC and VSNL have opened new business frontiers. The Tatas were also close to acquiring Air-India, the country's international carrier, but could not pull it off because Singapore Airlines, their partner in the bid, pulled out. Group chairman Ratan Tata explained to his employees the rationale for retaining or divesting companies in a letter written to employees last month. 'We will now need to critically evaluate individual company performances to determine which companies will be retained, funded and expanded as part of our core businesses in future.'