How Noel Tata fends off Srinivasan-Singh threat in Tata Trusts

In the battle for control of the 100-company Tata group, one factor has received relatively little attention—the strength of Noel Tata’s position within Tata Trusts. While trustees Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have challenged chairman Noel on the RBI’s listing requirement for Tata Sons and N. Chandrasekaran’s reappointment, the trustee composition across the Trusts has largely left the two on the margins. The notable exception is Jamsetji Tata Trust, where they hold a majority.

Noel sits on 13 of the 14 trusts. The only exception is the Lady Tata Memorial Trust, run by Dr M. Chandy, Siddharth Sharma and Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan.

Noel’s support within the Trusts comes in three layers. The first is family. His children—Leah, Maya and Neville Tata—hold positions across eight trusts including Tata Social Welfare Trust, Tata Education Trust, R.D. Tata Trust, Sarvajanik Seva Trust and J.N. Tata Endowment. Jimmy Tata, his half-brother and the late Ratan Tata’s brother, is also a trustee, although he plays little active role in the running of the trusts.

The second layer is Bhaskar Bhat, Noel’s nominee on Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). The third is a Parsi circle comprising Jehangir H.C. Jehangir, Darius Khambata and J.N. Mistry, who are spread across SDTT, Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) and some of the allied trusts. They are part of the Trusts since the time of Ratan Tata.

The composition of the two flagship Trust boards shows the equation most clearly. SDTT has Noel, Neville Tata, Bhat and Khambata on one side, against Srinivasan and Singh. SRTT has Noel, Jehangir and Khambata, with Jimmy Tata also on the board, against Srinivasan alone. The stakes are significant. The two trusts must jointly nominate a representative for the Tata Sons AGM and together represent the Trusts’ 66% stake in the holding company, Tata Sons.

The unity of Noel’s camp became particularly visible when Noel, Neville, Bhat and Khambata jointly signed a letter challenging Srinivasan and Singh’s stand on the Tata Sons listing. The four trustees’ coordinated response underlined that the 4-2 alignment at SDTT is not merely a numerical advantage but a functioning bloc on the central issue dividing the Trusts.

The relatively smaller Jamsetji Tata Trust is where the equation reverses. Its board comprises only Noel, Srinivasan and Singh, allowing the two to outvote Noel. He has no family member, aide or Parsi ally alongside him there. At JRD Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust, the two sides are evenly matched at two trustees each. Elsewhere, Srinivasan and Singh are either outnumbered or absent. Neither sits on Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, Sarvajanik Seva Trust, J.N. Tata Endowment or Tata Education and Development Trust.

The isolation of the two trustees has been building over several months. When their reappointment to Tata Education and Development Trust came up, J.N. Mistry voted against it along with Mehli Mistry. Mehli, once a close confidant of Ratan Tata and one of Noel’s most visible rivals, was also voted off the boards of SDTT and SRTT. Noel, Srivatsan and Singh voted against Mistry. He now remains only on Tata Education and Development Trust. Another dissident, Pramit Jhaveri, also lost his board role.

Srinivasan and Singh have consequently taken their fight beyond the Trust boards. Singh’s complaint over the 1989 transfer of shares by Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust did not gain traction after the Charity Commissioner found the transaction lawful, properly documented and supported by a valuation.

Srinivasan’s petition before the commissioner, however, proved more disruptive. In May, it resulted in the SRTT board meetings being barred, preventing Noel from removing Srinivasan as a Tata Sons nominee and stalling the Tata Sons AGM, at which Chandrasekaran’s directorship was due for renewal. The contest has since shifted to SDTT. A complaint concerning its governance, reportedly including Noel’s appointment as Tata Trusts chairman and Neville Tata’s position on the board, led the commissioner to seek an explanation from the trust.

The two trustees have also tried to ambush the Trusts’ effort to keep Tata Sons private. On September 28, the Trusts proposed merging Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers into the holding company. The move would help Tata Sons shed its NBFC and core investment company classifications and avoid the listing that RBI rules would otherwise require. The proposal was sent to Tata Sons and the RBI despite opposition from Srinivasan and Singh.

Srinivasan’s vote ultimately helped the Tata Sons board offer Chandrasekaran a third term, against Noel’s lone dissent. But within Tata Trusts, the numbers tell a different story. There, Noel has built a broad base of family and long-standing allies, leaving Srinivasan and Singh in a minority. Now, the Charity Commissioner’s intervention at SRTT and SDTT remains a critical variable in the contest.