MUMBAI: Vijay Singh, a former Indian defence secretary whose eligibility as a trustee has come under legal challenge, absented himself from the board meeting of the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution on Friday, the latest sign of an intensifying governance dispute within India’s most powerful philanthropic network.The challenge was brought by Mehli Mistry, a former trustee, before the Maharashtra charity commissioner, questioning the appointments of Singh and Venu Srinivasan as trustees of Bai Hirabai. Mistry cited clauses in the 1923 trust deed requiring all trustees to be Zoroastrians and permanent residents of Mumbai, and argued that neither of them met those conditions.Srinivasan, chairman emeritus of TVS Motors, stepped down citing other commitments, but later acknowledged he had done so at the request of Tata Trusts management. Singh declined a similar request. Those present at the Friday meeting included chairman Noel Tata, trustees Darius Khambata and Jehangir HC Jehangir, the last of whom joined by video conference from Europe. Jimmy Tata, Noel’s older half-brother and a fellow trustee, was again absent. Singh confirmed he did not attend the meeting. A person familiar with the proceedings said the board discussed, among other matters, Mistry’s objections and next steps.The dispute has exposed a deeper legal tension. Both Srinivasan and Singh alleged that Tata Trusts had withheld from them a legal opinion by former chief justice of India MH Kania, who held that the restrictive eligibility clauses in Bai Hirabai’s trust deed were “bad in law.” That interpretation had previously allowed former Tata Group director RK Krishnakumar to be inducted onto the board. Tata Trusts said irrespective of that opinion and past precedent, appointments of non-Zoroastrians remained open to challenge under the deed’s provisions, adding that a legal opinion did not substitute for a judicial pronouncement. The commissioner has yet to order a formal inquiry. Bai Hirabai was endowed by Sir Ratan Tata, younger son of Tata Group founder Jamsetji Tata, who bequeathed properties in Mumbai and Navsari to the institution, the provenance that gives its century-old deed its continuing legal force.

India is rapidly strengthening its position in global electronics trade, now supplying about 40 per cent of the smartphones imported by the United States that were previously sourced from China.According to a recent report by McKinsey & Company, cited by ANI, the United States has been actively diversifying its import sources and has replaced about two-thirds of the goods it previously sourced from China, valued at more than $80 billion. India and ASEAN economies have played a significant role in this shift.“India, for example, increased smartphone exports to the United States to levels equal to roughly 40 per cent of what China had supplied,” the report stated.India’s rise in smartphone exports has been particularly notable, with shipments to the US increasing sharply despite the long geographical distance of around 13,000 kilometers. This reflects the country’s growing role in global electronics manufacturing and supply chains.The report also highlighted that ASEAN economies replaced about two-thirds of US laptop imports that had earlier come from China, pointing to a broader shift in manufacturing bases across Asia.It noted that global trade remained resilient in 2025 despite concerns of a slowdown. Both US imports and Chinese exports reached new highs during the year, while overall global trade grew faster than the global economy.Among emerging economies, India stood out for expanding trade across regions. However, while overall exports remained largely unchanged, smartphones were a key exception and drove export growth.The report said the shift in trade patterns is being driven by domestic priorities and geopolitical realignments. Advanced economies and China are increasingly reorienting trade away from geopolitically distant partners, while emerging economies like India continue to expand trade across markets.It also pointed to changes in other regions. ASEAN strengthened its position as a manufacturing hub by importing more inputs from China and exporting finished goods to the United States. Brazil increased commodity exports to China, replacing goods that China had earlier sourced from the US.