Last Updated:September 12, 2025, 08:23 IST

The dispute traces back to October 2024, when the trustees appointed Noel Tata as chairman following the demise of Ratan Tata

Tata Trusts

Tempers flared during a meeting of Tata Trusts, as disagreements surfaced over the exercise of a key power—the appointment of a nominee director on the board of Tata Sons—and the broader question of how the charities should exert control over India’s largest diversified business conglomerate, valued at more than Rs 27 lakh crore, The Economic Times reported.

The dispute traces back to October 2024, when the trustees appointed Noel Tata as chairman following the demise of Ratan Tata, the group patriarch. At that time, the trustees resolved that Trust-nominated directors on Tata Sons’ board would require renewal every year after turning 75. This put Vijay Singh, 77, a former defence secretary who has been a nominee director since 2013 and a Tata Trusts trustee since 2018, in line for annual reappointment.

According to the report, four trustees—Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir Jehangir, and Darius Khambata—opposed Singh’s reappointment. Singh later resigned from Tata Sons’ board. Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan, also nominee directors, were present at the meeting. Singh did not participate since the agenda involved his own reappointment.

The power to appoint nominees is a crucial lever of influence for Tata Trusts. Under Article 121 of Tata Sons’ Articles of Association, nominee directors hold veto rights over key decisions. Differences deepened when the four opposing trustees sought to nominate Mehli Mistry in Singh’s place. Srinivasan and Noel Tata resisted, arguing that due process aligned with Tata values and institutional stature must be followed.

Officials close to the matter described the attempt as a power grab. “Any decision of such kind needs unanimity,” one senior official told ET. “This hostile manner is not the Tata way of doing things. There is an impasse now, with three trustees against four. For the moment, Tata Sons will have two Trust nominees until a solution is worked out.”

One possible resolution, according to people in the know, is to appoint a professional search firm to shortlist candidates, with trustees also free to apply for the role.

Underlying the tensions is a long-standing friction over information sharing. Tata Trusts—specifically the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust—hold 66% of Tata Sons’ equity. Trustees not serving on the board complain of inadequate communication from nominee directors, alleging they are kept in the dark about deliberations. Nominee directors, however, argue they can only share key developments without breaching their fiduciary responsibilities, as board members are bound by market regulator governance norms.

Another related debate concerns whether nominee directors should accept board fees from Tata Sons, since they are meant to act purely as overseers on behalf of the Trusts.

Meanwhile, the Tata Sons board also faces additional vacancies following the exits of Ralph Speth, Ajay Piramal, and Leo Puri, ET added.

Aparna Deb

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More

Read More

MUMBAI: In its bid to push e-commerce exports and open up the global market for scores of small and medium sellers, the govt is set to begin consultations with the industry to draw a framework for allowing inventory based model for e-commerce exports.While there have been growing calls from the industry to open up the inventory model for e-commerce exports, the progress on the talks comes at a time when the US has scrapped a provision that allowed tax free import of small packages worth up to $800, hurting growth prospects for small sellers. The proposal, if implemented, will make a deviation from govt’s current FDI norms that bar foreign e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart from holding inventory, probably explaining New Delhi’s urgency to boost export growth. Although it has been in the pipeline for more than a year, the move coincides with signals that the India-US trade talks may resume soon.The meeting called by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Sept 15 is expected to be attended by Amazon and Walmart besides representatives from logistics companies and other govt departments, note of the meeting agenda gathered from sources showed. At present, less than 10% of local MSMEs selling online participate in global e-commerce exports constrained by a host of factors including complex documentation, compliance requirements and high logistics costs. Studies indicate that nearly 87% of enterprises onboarded for e-commerce exports during 2020-24 exited by 2025. “The proposal envisages a third-party export facilitation model, wherein a dedicated export entity linked to e-commerce platforms would manage compliance, logistics, and customs processes. This would enable MSMEs to focus on product development, quality, and branding,” said an agenda note shared by DGFT, which has been reviewed by TOI. Allowing the move may require updates to DPIIT’s FDI guidelines, including review of the prohibition on inventory based e-comm for export-only models, the note said.