Tata Trusts power struggle explained in 10 points: What’s driving the conflict? Know all details

Tata Trusts’ internal turmoil is once again making headlines. Tata Trusts, which exerts decisive influence over India’s most valuable conglomerate through its about 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, has found itself in the midst of infighting among its trustees. Top honchos of the Tata group, including Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman amid infighting.

What’s driving the conflict?

1. According to sources, there is infighting among the trustees of Tata Trusts over board appointments and governance issues, which threaten to impact the functioning of the over USD 180 billion conglomerate.
2. Reports suggest that Tata Trusts is said to be vertically split, with one section aligned with Noel Tata, who was appointed chairman of the Trusts following the death of Ratan Tata. 
3. The other grouping of four trustees is led by Mehli Mistry, who has ties with the extended Shapoorji Pallonji family, which owns about 18.37 per cent of Tata Sons. Mehli reportedly feels he has been kept out of the loop on key matters.
4. Tata Trusts exerts decisive influence over India’s most valuable conglomerate through its about 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the promoter and holding company of the salt-to-semiconductor group.
5. The dispute has its roots in a meeting of six trustees of the Tata Trusts, the umbrella group representing several charitable trusts, including the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sri Ratan Tata Trust. 
6. The meeting on September 11 was convened to consider the reappointment of former defence secretary Vijay Singh as a nominee director on the Tata Sons board.
7. At the September 11 meeting, the reappointment of 77-year-old Vijay Singh – a director since 2012 and trustee since 2018 – was proposed by Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan (chairman emeritus of TVS Group).
8. However, the four other trustees — Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir HC Jehangir, and Darius Khambata — opposed the move, leading to the resolution’s rejection.
9. Following the rejection, the four trustees sought to nominate Mehli Mistry to the Tata Sons board, but Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan opposed the move, emphasising the need for a transparent process aligned with Tata’s values. Subsequently, Vijay Singh voluntarily resigned from the Tata Sons board.
10. Some within the group believe that the four trustees, led by Mehli Mistry, have been attempting to undermine Noel Tata’s leadership in the Tata Trusts.