Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, told the June 2024 board that the company must submit full risk‑return business cases before any capital infusion over Rs 100 crore is approved. The Rs 23,000‑crore proposal covered Air India, Tejas Networks and Tata Digital, among others. He said the board had only seen the headline figures and insisted on a deeper, numbers‑driven review.
Tata Sons’ articles of association actually give the Trusts‑nominated directors—Noel and Venu Srinivasan of TVS Motor—final say on any investment above Rs 100 crore. Noel took over the chairmanship of the Trusts after his half‑brother Ratan Tata died in October 2024, giving him a hard‑edge in the governance tussle.
The same argument resurfaced at the September meeting, where Noel again pushed for detailed business cases. He also filed a procedural challenge to the reappointment of chairman N Chandrasekaran, claiming the resolution was not on the agenda.
Behind the boardroom battles lies the RBI’s decision not to let Tata Sons surrender its core investment company status. Noel has floated a merger of two subsidiaries with the holding company as a way to sidestep a public listing, but Sanjay Malhotra has warned that such CICs must list under the regulator’s upper tier.
If the board concedes, Tata Sons will likely overhaul its investment approval process, possibly delaying the Air India and Tejas capital injections until risk assessments are completed. The next board meeting, slated for early October, will decide whether to adopt the new framework.