TOI reported Mr Ratan Tata chairman of TATA Group has directed all the MDs and CEOs of 98 TATA group companies to manage costs. As per report, Mr Tata has listed 8 things the various TATA companies can do to come out on top of the difficult economic environment.

Mr Tata has urged companies to form a small management task force by early January with stated time bound tasks and targets to face the challenging times ahead. The top priority is of course, to manage costs and improve operational efficiency. He has told companies to put acquisitions on hold unless considered strategically critical.

The note asks companies to follow the old adage cash is king and to cut down all loans and lines of credits from banks and institutions to the maximum extent possible. He added that companies should finalize pending loan and funding agreements, even if it calls for higher interest rates.

A TATA Spokesperson said that "The senior management of the TATA group companies have been advised to be sensitive and conscious of the difficult financial circumstances existing today and have been requested to be proactive to focus on cash flow and conserve expenditure wherever prudently possible."

Some of the companies with large foreign operations and the ones that have made substantial acquisitions have already been facing major problems in raising capital as well as establishing lines of credit for operations. The group is facing a similar problem to raise credit in the home market too. In the last few years, the group has been on a shopping spree and has bought well known global assets like Corus, Tetley, Eight O' Clock Coffee, Jaguar and Land Rover.