"I have always been one of your greatest admirers and supporters," Tata has written to Dr Singh, who responded by saying that those in public life "inevitably face" criticism and it should be used constructively to guide the government.       

Tata, who will step down on December 28 to take over as Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has conveyed to Singh his "sense of shock at reading the completely untrue, sensationalised headlines and reporting of a recent interview" to the Financial Times of London.