Chandrasekaran, Noel Tata likely to meet in November amid Tata boardroom tussle

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Tata Steel had originally scheduled the meeting for October 27 but postponed it due to “unavoidable circumstances”, according to a stock exchange notice. Chandrasekaran is the company’s non-executive chairman, while Noel Tata is its non-executive vice-chairman.

Noel Tata is also set to step down from the Tata Steel board and some other company boards on November 12, when he turns 70, the retirement age for non-executive directors. Calls, including open letters from Tata loyalists, have also urged the two chairmen to sit down and resolve their differences through dialogue, as per the report.

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The November developments come amid an ongoing dispute over Chandrasekaran’s reappointment and the proposed listing of Tata Sons. At the September 17 board meeting, directors backed a third term for Chandrasekaran after his current tenure ends in February 2027 and decided to pursue the holding company’s listing under the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate. Noel opposed both decisions, although no vote was held on the listing issue.

Meanwhile, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), a key Tata Trusts entity, is expected to hold a board meeting in November, the report said. It recently told the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner that Tata Trusts, as the 66% shareholder of Tata Sons, was entitled to protect the asset by restructuring the holding company to avoid a stock market listing.

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The proposed restructuring, announced on September 28, involves merging Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers with Tata Sons. SDTT is learnt to have argued that the resulting entity would no longer qualify as a non-banking financial company or core investment company and could remain private.

Maharashtra Charity Commissioner Amogh Shyamkant Kaloti is expected to decide on the SDTT matter soon, potentially providing clarity amid the group’s prolonged leadership uncertainty. The RBI has maintained that listing is mandatory for any upper-layer NBFC.