Bengaluru/Mumbai: Tata Trusts is expected to discuss several vexing issues, including whether to retaining Tata Sons as a private company and the possibility of giving a third full term to chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, when the Trustees of the philanthropic entities meet in the second week of May, about four months after its last meeting in January, according to two Tata Group executives who did not wish to be named.
The agenda for the meeting has not yet been finalised or shared with trustees, the two executives said, and the meeting could be convened on 8 or 12 May, depending on the availability of all trustees.
Whether Chandrasekaran's third term will be discussed depends on Tata Sons' response to the questions that Tata Trusts chair Noel Tata raised at the Tata Sons board meeting on 24 February, one executive said. At that meeting, Noel Tata had raised questions about Tata Sons' strategic direction, prompting the board to defer a decision on Chandrasekaran's re-appointment for a third five-year term, set to begin in February 2027.
Three crucial questions
Noel Tata, who took over as the chair of Tata Trusts on 11 October 2024, had raised three questions at the board meeting in February. First, he sought clarity on Tata Sons’ roadmap to make its e-commerce (Tata Digital) and aviation (Air India) businesses profitable, as well as on the future of its semiconductor business (Tata Electronics). This was because he and the other Trustees had been unaware of the losses incurred by some of these businesses for nine months, according to two executives. Following this, Chandrasekaran decided to defer the decision on a third term at the board meeting on 24 February.
"Noel learned of the losses in some businesses a week before the board meeting, which led him to seek a roadmap for them," said the first executive. “Tata Trusts is still waiting to hear from Tata Sons on a detailed response to Noel Tata's questions.” Air India, which ended with ₹78,636 crore of revenue last year, posted a loss of ₹10,895 crore, the highest of all Tata Group companies. Tata Digital and Tata Electronics reported losses of ₹4,610 crore and ₹70 crore, respectively.
The two other questions Noel Tata raised were: how Tata Sons plans to provide an exit to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which owns 18.38% of Tata Sons; and whether there was an update on keeping the Tata Group’s holding company private.
Both executives added that Noel Tata was clear that Tata Sons should remain private. "Otherwise, the nature of the group will change. The group's founding philosophy will change. By being private, there is no burden on the Tatas taking strategic bets for the long term, such as Air India and entering the semiconductor business," the first executive said.
Performance review
The second executive added that, regardless of whether Tata Trusts hears Tata Sons’ strategy, the performance of new-age businesses will be discussed. “There are a few things that need to be addressed. First, trustees need to discuss and agree on an issue among themselves rather than address it in public. Second, for the sake of the Tata Group, trustees need to review Tata Sons' performance and agree that a succession planning exercise is needed at Tata Sons.”
“There is a need to move to calmer seas, to bring stability, and this meeting should help in doing that,” said the second executive. The first executive noted that because the meeting would be held after the close of the 2025-26 financial year, the discussions would center on reviewing philanthropic activities from the past year and setting the budget for the year ahead.
The two principal entities of Tata Trusts, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), own 27.98% and 23.56% of Tata Sons, respectively. Noel Tata, two vice chairmen, TVS Motor Corp Chair emeritus Venu Srinivasan, retired defence secretary Vijay Singh, and Mumbai lawyer Darius Khambata are trustees of both. Bhaskar Bhat, former chief of Titan Industries, and Noel’s son Neville Tata are Trustees of SDTT, while Ratan Tata’s brother Jimmy Tata and Jehangir HC Jehangir, a philanthropist from Pune, are members of SRTT.
An email to Tata Trusts seeking comment did not elicit an immediate response.
