The listing conundrum: Why Tata Sons wants to stay private

INDIA IS WAGING a tough battle against cancer, as increasingly over 70% of cases are being diagnosed at the late stage, when the odds of survival dramatically shrink amid narrowing treatment options. What’s worse: the country is projected to hit a record 1.75 million new cases annually by 2030, that is 24% higher than the current rate.

Even as the disease is spreading, the Tata Trusts — since their inception — have made this fight their own. With a 20-hospital cancer care network, the largest in India, with more under construction, the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, annually, sees 75,000 enrollments, including those from remote villages and slums, who receive the same quality of care available at a private hospital without the exorbitant cost. In the U.S., a single course of proton beam therapy — the least damaging radiation therapy with sub-millimetre accuracy — costs between $150,000 and $250,000 (₹1.39 crore and ₹2.3 crore). Tata Memorial Centre is providing it at substantially lower costs, benefitting not just Indians but those from other countries as well. This is one of the many philanthropic initiatives of the Tata Trusts.