"He provided stable leadership to one of India's oldest and most prestigious business houses. At the same time, his contribution went far beyond boardrooms," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The funeral has taken place in Mumbai of Ratan Tata, the former chairman of one of India’s biggest conglomerates, Tata Group, who died on Wednesday aged 86. Business leaders, politicians and celebrities were among thousands of people who paid their last respects at the centre where his body lay in state before being cremated.