The Thirteenth Annual JRD TATA Oration

The JRD Tata Oration on Business Ethics, organized by the XLRI JRD Tata Foundation for Business Ethics, has been an annual feature in the XLRI Calendar since 1991. The Oration forms part of the role that XLRI has chosen to play so as to highlight the problem of ethics in India and the world today and to help bring ethics into the mainstream of everyday business. The Foundation also bestows the tri-annual JRD Tata Award for Business Ethics to an eminent personality who has been in the forefront upholding the cardinal principles of ethics. The first such Award was conferred on Mr N Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu and Frontline in 2002.

The Annual Ethics Oration is delivered by an eminent leader. While J R D Tata delivered the first Oration in 1991, Mark Tully delivered the 12th and till date the latest Oration. This year, Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, the Archbishop of Ranchi, will deliver the Thirteenth Annual Oration at 6 pm on Monday, February 9, 2004, at the Tata Auditorium, XLRI. The theme that he has chosen for this year’s Oration is, “Corporate Governance and the Church’s Contribution.”

On the theme this year, Fr P D Thomas SJ, Director, XLRI says, "The Church is the largest and the oldest Multinational in the world. It has a history of nearly 2000 years of Corporate Governance. Thus it is worth considering metaphorically, corporate governance of the Industry and the Church."

The Annual Oration Series that is eagerly awaited in the Business Circuit of the Country has been in the forefront as a source of fresh perspectives to this topic of eternal relevance, Business Ethics that of late has seen debates raging in different arenas as to where the thin line needs to be drawn.