Inside the High-Stakes Power Struggle Rocking India's Tata Conglomerate

An unprecedented power struggle has erupted at the top of one of India’s largest conglomerates, pitting the board of its holding company Tata Sons against its majority shareholder Tata Trusts. Last week, Tata Sons extended Chairman N Chandrasekaran’s term and said it would consider publicly listing the holding company, flying in the face of the family charity that controls the 158-year-old Tata Group.

Extending Chandrasekaran’s chairmanship and taking Tata public is at the heart of the family-linked feud. Collectively, listed Tata companies have a market capitalisation of $277bn and influence over 17.7 million retail shareholders apart from pension funds, insurers and mutual funds, according to investment advisory firm InGovern.

The Tata Group business conglomerate spans industries from information technology and automobiles to steel, power, aviation, chemicals and consumer goods. It has 26 publicly listed companies, including TCS and Tata Motors, operating across more than 100 countries with Tata Sons serving as the principal holding and investment company.

The roots of the conglomerate go back more than 150 years when Nusserwanji Tata moved to Mumbai in the mid-19th century and entered the trading business, which was later expanded by his son Jamsetji Tata into an industrial group. After Jamsetji's death in 1904, his sons Dorabji and Ratanji Tata carried the businesses forward, with the family’s charitable trusts eventually becoming major shareholders of Tata Sons.

JRD Tata became chairman in 1938, transforming the group into a diversified industrial enterprise before Ratan Tata succeeded him in 1991 during India's economic liberalisation. Ratan Tata served as chairman of both Tata Sons and its majority stakeholder, Tata Trusts, bridging the two entities until his death in 2024, after which a widening schism gradually became apparent.

The face-off was triggered on September 17 when Tata Sons reappointed Chandrasekaran as its chairman over the Tata Trusts’ nominee on the board, Noel Tata, in a 4-to-1 vote. Noel Tata is the sitting chairman of Tata Trusts, the half-brother of Ratan Tata, and the only family-linked senior executive sitting in the top echelons of Tata Sons today.

Last month, Chandrasekaran stated he would not seek another term as chairman after February 2027, but the Tata Group board asked him to reconsider for the group’s larger interests, a request he accepted. Noel Tata called the reappointment illegal under Tata Sons’ articles of association, noting that both trust nominees were required to vote in coordination, though Venu Srinivasan voted in favour while Noel Tata voted against. This matter is now expected to be decided by the courts.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rejected Tata Sons' request to deregister as a nonbank finance company, bringing the firm closer to a public listing to comply with regulations for assets exceeding $10.45bn. While Tata Sons agreed to comply, Noel Tata opposed the move, arguing it would alter the character of a group supporting extensive philanthropic activities.

Furthermore, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, holding an 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons, is seeking to monetise its shareholding due to debt. Noel Tata tabled a plan to sell a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s stake worth $2.61bn, a move backed by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group which also supports Tata Sons going public.

The dispute has sparked broader debates about the growth and influence of India's top business houses and conglomerates. The future of the Tata Group is now slated to be decided in the courtroom, with legal teams led by figures such as Harish Salve for Tata Sons and Abhishek Singhvi for Tata Trusts.