Tata Steel office in Jamshedpur. File picture

Jamshedpur, Aug. 26: The third of March is no less than a festival for steel city and perhaps the sights and sounds of tall chimneys emitting smoke, the siren blowing off five times a day, the red hue on the skyline each night and men in blue peddling their way to work would be etched in the memories of all.

Amid the history, certain milestones made the city what it is today. From renaming Kalimati to Jamshedpur to executing some of the memorable charters has given character to the city. The Telegraph relives some moments which gave India its first industrial township.

November 14, 1900: Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata visits England, meets the secretary of state for India, Lord George Hamilton and decides to build a steel plant here.

February 24, 1904: P.N. Bose, an Indian geologist, discovered the lofty Gorumahisani hills with its input storehouse of iron-ore and informed J.N. Tata that a place called Kalimati, located on the confluence of two rivers, would make a good sight for the steel plant.

1908: First stake driven and construction of works begins at Sakchi.

1912: The eight-hour working day introduced.

January 2, 1919: Visit of Lord Chelmsford to rename Sakchi as Jamshedpur and Kalimati Railway Station as Tatanagar. The Kalimati road in Sakchi still brings back the nostalgic memories.

June 1, 1920: Leave with pay, Workers’ Provident Fund Scheme and Workmens’ Accident Compensation Scheme introduced by Tata Steel.

September 12, 1928: Subhash Chandra Bose, president, Jamshedpur Labour Association signed an agreement with N.B. Saklatvala.

September 1, 1934: Profit sharing bonus granted for the first time in India.

1936: Jehangir Gandhy became the first India General Manager.               

July 26, 1938: J.R.D. Tata succeeded Sir N.B. Saklatvala as chairman of the company.

1955-58: Tata Steel carried out a two million-tonne expansion programme under contract with Kaiser Engineers, USA.

1958: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Jubilee Park — a gift from the Tatas on completing 50 successful years.

1956: Tata Steel and Tata Workers’ Union pen the famous “Tata-John Agreement.”

August 3, 1977: Michael John dies after prolonged illness. V.G. Gopal appointed new president.

1979: Tata Steel Rural Development Society formed with an objective of taking affirmative action in areas surrounding the lives of tribals in and around Jamshedpur.

1984: Michael John Auditorium established by Rajiv Gandhi.

1987: India’s first football academy, the Tata Football Academy was established. Till date it has produced some of the best soccer players in the country.

March 3, 1989: Tragic fire during the Founders’ Day celebrations near the work gate.

1991: Prime minister P.V. Narsimha Rao inaugurated the J.R.D. Tata Sports Complex.

October 14, 1993: TWU president V.G. Gopal killed within the Tata Workers’ Union premises.

November 29: J.R.D. Tata dies in Geneva at the age of 89.

2004: Jusco was established, formerly known as Tata Steel’s town division, its has proved to be a benchmark for quality services for life. Its ISO 14001 certified environment management system is the first in the country. Thanks to the service, the steel city was adjudged the second best city for its conditions of living a by a nationwide survey by O.R.G. Marg and A.C. Neilson.

2005: Tata Steel made its first overseas investment in NatSteel Asia for a stronger marketing footprint in South Asia.               

2005: Tata Steel acquires Millennium steel company, Thailand’s largest steel company.

2007: Biggest acquisition ever made by an Indian company. Acquisition of Corus took the Tatas to the forefront of steel production in the world               

Source: Milestones for Tata Steel (100th annual general report of Tata Steel)