The Tata Trusts board is scheduled to meet on August 13 to consider and approve the accounts and other matters ahead of the Tata Sons annual general meeting (AGM) on August 18, with the renewal of N Chandrasekaran’s tenure as chairman expected to be a key issue.
The Trusts have also approached the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner seeking a one-time waiver to enable trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) to hold a meeting and consider its accounts and other matters. The move assumes significance as the SRTT is currently restrained from holding meetings, creating uncertainty over its proposed grants of around Rs 400 crore as well as its Tata Sons dividend.
The SRTT could also face difficulty in exercising its voting rights at the Tata Sons AGM on August 18 unless it obtains approval from the Charity Commissioner. The issue has added another layer of uncertainty to the crucial shareholder meeting.
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At the Tata Sons AGM on August 18, shareholders are expected to consider the reappointment of Chandrasekaran as a director. His current tenure as Executive Chairman of Tata Sons ends in February next year. Any decision on extending his tenure is expected to require the backing of the Tata Trusts, the principal shareholders of Tata Sons.
Tata Trusts did not respond to a mail from The Indian Express.
The August 13 Trusts meeting, is therefore, likely to be significant in determining the Trusts’ position on Chandrasekaran’s continuation, said a source in the Tata group.
Chandrasekaran’s term extension faces hurdles
On February 24, the outcome of the board meeting of Tata Sons was unusual as Noel Tata surprised other directors, raising questions on losses made by several unlisted companies in the $180 billion group.
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While the extension of Chandrasekaran for a third term of five years was agreed upon earlier by Tata Trusts trustees, Noel Tata proved to be a tough task master, raising several queries at the board meeting and putting across several conditions for approving another term for him. Four Tata Sons directors were in favour of extending the tenure and were ready to put the issue on vote, but Chandrasekaran proposed postponement of the decision because he felt that the decisions in Tata Sons should be consensus-based, a tradition followed by late Ratan Tata. In short, he wanted the approval of Noel Tata for the extension.
Chandrasekaran, 63, became the chairman of Tata Sons in 2017 after the exit of Cyrus Mistry. He got his second extension in 2022. For a third extension, Tata Sons will have to waive the retirement norms. As per the current policy, directors in executive positions should retire on attaining 65 years of age.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty over the Trusts’ decision-making stems from ongoing disputes involving Tata Trusts trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, former trustee Mehli Mistry and questions over the composition and functioning of the SRTT board. The Maharashtra Charity Commissioner is expected to hear the Trusts’ response to various complaints before the Tata Sons AGM.
Mistry challenges trustee appointments
The governance dispute came into sharper focus in May, when Srinivasan and Singh were not reappointed as trustees of the Tata Education and Development Trust, a comparatively smaller entity within the Tata Trusts group. Mistry voted against their reappointment, while Singh voted in favour of Srinivasan and Srinivasan voted in favour of Singh. Under the trust’s rules, however, reappointment requires unanimous approval, resulting in their terms not being extended.
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On May 15, the Tata Trusts indefinitely deferred its board meeting scheduled for May 16 following an order from the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner. The order referred to representations or complaints made by Tata Sons director and Tata Trusts trustee Venu Srinivasan and advocate Katyayani Agrawal.
Earlier this year, Mistry, who stepped down as a trustee of both the SRTT and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), had expanded his challenge to the leadership and governance framework of the Tata Trusts by raising a series of issues before the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner.
In his filings, Mistry questioned trustee appointments, board-level decisions, remuneration arrangements and governance practices across the Tata Trusts ecosystem. His objections included concerns over compensation and commissions received by certain trustees from Tata group companies, as well as potential conflicts of interest arising from trustees simultaneously serving on the boards of Tata group entities.
Tata Sons profit rises despite Air India losses
Tata Sons, in which Tata Trusts holds 66% stake, reported a 21.8% rise in profit after tax to Rs 31,961.11 crore in FY26 as against Rs 26,231.74 crore in FY25 even as the group’s flagship aviation business Air India saw its losses more than double during the year.
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Revenue of Tata Sons rose 9.1% to Rs 42,366.55 crore in FY26, according to the company’s annual report. The company has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 1.11 lakh per share. This means Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, will get Rs 45 crore as dividend incomes as he holds 4,060 shares in Tata Sons.
Chandrasekaran received a total remuneration of Rs 158.6 crore in FY26. Of this, Rs 140.69 crore was commission while salary and other compensation amounted to Rs 17.97 crore, according to the annual report.
