India’s Tata Group, valued at over USD 180 billion, is facing an unprecedented governance crisis within its philanthropic arm, Tata Trusts, prompting swift government intervention. The dispute erupted when four Tata Trust trustees—Darius Khambata, Jehangir HC Jehangir, Pramit Jhaveri, and Mehli Mistry—alleged that Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons’ board, led by N. Chandrasekaran, were bypassing established governance protocols in appointing key positions and sharing critical information. Sources say the quartet had formed a de facto “super board,” undermining the authority of Noel Tata and the Tata Sons board.
On October 7, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman convened an urgent meeting with Noel Tata, Chandrasekaran, Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan, and trustee Darius Khambata at the Minister’s residence. The ministers conveyed that the Trusts’ majority shareholding in Tata Sons carries a “public responsibility” given the conglomerate’s systemic economic significance. They urged “restoring stability by whatever means necessary,” including the potential removal of any trustee whose actions threaten group cohesion.
Complicating the backdrop is the Reserve Bank of India’s classification of Tata Sons as an “upper-layer” NBFC requiring a public listing by September 30, 2025. Tata Sons applied for deregistration in March 2024 to defer the mandate, and the RBI has yet to decide, though Governor Sanjay Malhotra affirmed that entities can continue operations until deregistration is finalized. The impasse over listing, combined with the internal trust feud, has raised concerns about the governance of over 400 Tata-affiliated companies, including more than 30 listed entities.