The Tatas are constructing the monumental Central Vista project while their arch rival, the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) group, is doing the redevelopment of Rajpath in New Delhi. Both groups were vying for the project and after Tata won the Parliament project, the SP group shot off several letters to the government and threatened litigation. But just four days later, in October last year, the SP group withdrew its objections against the Tata group and was given the Rajpath redevelopment project.

Interestingly, the SP group has filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court supporting the Modi project, and one can expect a similar approach by the Tatas too. In a sense, Prime Minister Modi, whose image has been badly dented by the Centre’s weak response to the second wave of the Covid pandemic, can take comfort from having brought two large, warring corporates together!