Tata Trusts board meets amid infighting among trustees

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) Tata Trusts’ board of directors stayed away from controversial issues and discussed routine matters in its meeting on Friday amid rumors of disagreement over appointment of trustees and governance.

“Today’s meeting was a routine meeting and no controversial issues were discussed,” a source said, adding that presentations were made on various hospitals and rural development projects.

“There was no reference to past events,” the source added.

The meeting took place after senior executives of the Tata Group, including Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

When contacted, Tata Trusts refused to comment on what transpired in the meeting.

However, reports stated that the meeting agenda mainly focused on regular philanthropic activities and reviewing funding proposals for healthcare projects.

On Tuesday, Noel Tata and Chandrasekaran, along with Tata Trusts Vice Chairman Venu Srinivasan and trustee Darius Khambata, met Shah and Sitharaman at the home minister’s residence.

The meeting took place in the backdrop of infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts over board appointments and governance issues that threaten to impact the functioning of the over $180 billion conglomerate.

Tata Trusts has a decisive influence on India’s most valuable conglomerate through its nearly 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the promoter and holding company of the salt-to-semiconductor group.

Tata Trusts has been vertically split, with one division aligned with Noel Tata, who was appointed chairman of the Trusts following the death of Ratan Tata, sources said. The other group of four trustees is led by Mehli Mistry, who has ties to the extended Shapoorji Pallonji family, which owns about 18.37 per cent of Tata Sons.

Mehli reportedly felt that he was not kept informed of important matters.

The flashpoint, sources said, is the board seats of Tata Sons, which controls the 156-year-old group comprising nearly 400 companies, including 30 listed firms.

The dispute has its roots in a meeting attended by six trustees of the Tata Trusts, the umbrella group that represents several charities, including the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sri Ratan Tata Trust.

The meeting on September 11 was convened to consider the reappointment of former defense minister Vijay Singh as a nominee director on the board of Tata Sons.

Including Singh, Tata Trusts has seven trustees. Singh did not attend the September 11 meeting because his candidacy was on the agenda.

Following Ratan Tata’s death in October 2024, Tata Trusts implemented a policy requiring annual reappointment of nominee directors on the Tata Sons board once they reach the age of 75. At the September 11 meeting, the reappointment of 77-year-old Singh, who has been a director since 2012 and a trustee since 2018, was recommended by Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan (chairman emeritus of TVS). Group).

However, four other trustees – Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir HC Jehangir and Darius Khambata – opposed the move, leading to the rejection of the decision.

Following the rejection, the four trustees attempted to nominate Mehli Mistry to the Tata Sons board but Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan opposed the move, stressing the need for a transparent process in line with Tata’s values.

Later, Singh voluntarily resigned from the board of Tata Sons.