Mumbai: The Tata Group, consisting of over 400 companies, and collectively worth Rs.27 lakh crore, are going to wait for bated breath for tomorrow’s meeting of the trustees of the Tata Trusts, which holds about 66% stake in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. Following charismatic leader Ratan Tata’s passing last year, the group has found itself in the spotlight due to the infighting amongst the trustees, with Ratan’s successor Noel Tata and his associates, N Chandrashekharan, Chairman of Tata Sons and Venu Srinivasan, a trustee at odds with the decisions taken by the other trustees.
The challenge seems enormous as the Trust approves the appointments and investments made by the Tata Group, and differences there can delay decision-making at Tata Sons, the group’s holding company.
Four trustees, including Mehli Mistry, Darius Khambata, Pramit Jhaveri and Jehangir H.C Jehangir have opposed Noel Tata’s recent decisions, including differences over the re-appointment of Vice Chairman Vijay Singh and Mehli Mistry’s nomination to the Tata Sons board, which has been opposed by either camps. Noel’s Tata’s decision to infuse Rs.1,000 crore in Tata International was eventually cleared, but the move was a major sticking point between the trustees.
Media reports suggest that the four trustees are trying to undermine Noel Tata’s authority as the Chairman of the Trust, creating a sense of uncertainty in the almost 156-year-old conglomerate’s operations.
Considering the immense clout the Trust has over the group, everyone is waiting with bated breath for the outcome of tomorrows meeting, since the group is India’s leading conglomerate with diverse interests.
