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HT Exclusive: Noel Tata opposes listing, says profit may take precedence over philanthropy
Noel Tata said that becoming chairman, after years as a trustee, had been humbling.
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Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata said on Saturday that he wasn’t against the conglomerate’s directional push but questioned its discipline in executing these projects, adding that taking the holding firm Tata Sons public will fundamentally alter the “Tata way” of working.
Speaking at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Tata said the Trusts remained ready to back Tata Sons’ national projects and underlined the salt-to-software conglomerate’s core philosophy that foregrounded philanthropy.
“My worry is that listing, which is what some people are proposing, will change this way, the Tata way. And one day, if we have 30,000, 40,000 shareholders, profit may take precedence over philanthropy. And I think that will fundamentally change the Tata way of working,” Tata said, in conversation with Suhel Seth.
Tata’s remarks are one of his most direct public comments yet on listing, an issue which has roiled the group. Tata Trusts owns more than 66% of Tata Sons.
When asked to define the Tata way, Tata said it rested on one idea: “The Tata way, the way I see it, revolves around a single premise: Charity precedes commerce. It’s not the other way around. Profits from group companies become tomorrow’s hospital, tomorrow’s library, tomorrow’s educational institutions, tomorrow’s relief for people in crisis… This profit becomes in a way a public good. And it repeats itself every year, year on year, by design,” he said.
He said this worked because of how Tata Sons was owned. “The owner cannot die, the owner cannot be bought, and the owner cannot retire. So there is a continuity in what happens in the Tata way.”
The remarks come amid his differences with the Tata Sons board over three issues: The reappointment of chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran for another five-year term, a planned public offering of Tata Sons, and growing losses in new-age businesses including aviation, electric vehicle batteries, digital commerce and semiconductors.
Tata said the group’s strategic direction was not in question; he questioned whether the group had the discipline to deliver on it.
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“In terms of governance, the strategic direction remains the same. Philanthropy on one hand, nation building on the other. This is independent of the leadership, of personalities. This is embedded in the DNA of the group,” Tata said.
“I have not questioned the direction of what we’ve done. I question sometimes the delivery of what we’re doing. The question is, do we have the discipline when we execute projects, and not the direction? How will projects with a long gestation period succeed if we don’t have discipline? And how will we allocate capital to those projects?” he said.
“So, very clearly, the direction is fine, but we also need discipline in the execution of these very large projects.”
Tata applied the same test to the Trusts. When he took over as chairman in October 2024 after Ratan Tata’s death, he reviewed the Trusts’ programmes in underserved areas. That review led him to conclude that “impact was more important than expenditure.”
“It wasn’t just, okay, I spent so many crores doing this. What did we actually achieve with that expenditure? What could be the maximum impact that we could arrive at?” he said.
He gave examples of what he meant: Combining nutrition, water harvesting and agriculture in a single area, and creating jobs for women. “The way in which the household income just goes up when you have a second person earning money in the household,” he said.
Tata, 70, said that backing of national projects was part of the Tata Trusts DNA and it will continue. “Strategic direction remains the same. Philanthropy on one hand, nation building on the other hand. This is independent of the leadership or personalities,” he said. The comments come days before a November 26 Tata Sons board meeting.
Tata also said a private Tata Sons acted as a backstop for any group company that got into trouble. “That is an important glue which keeps the entire group together,” he said.
He said outside investors would bring different priorities. A separate set of investors would ask why money was going into a company that needed funding, and would want capital sent to the most profitable ventures. “Therefore, the nature of the group is going to change,” he said. “Why tinker with something which has delivered such value for 150 years?”
He said the Trusts “will play a constructive role with regulators and others to try and find a solution which keeps the Tata way, the way it is.”
Tata said the trust had two roles. The first was direct philanthropy, through grants to NGOs and support for beneficiaries. The second worked through Tata Sons, which invested in and nurtured projects of national importance. He cited the group’s history of firsts: The first steel plant, hydroelectric plant, nitrogenous fertiliser plant and truck manufacturer. He also pointed to the group’s current projects, including India’s first semiconductor project, its first EV battery plant and a large phone assembly plant to make in India and export.
“From a trust perspective, we stand 100% behind Tata Sons’ efforts to invest in projects of national importance,” he said. These projects “have a longer gestation period. They might have a little more risk… but the hope is that eventually those projects will become public companies and prosper in the marketplace.”
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Tata was unanimously appointed chairman of Tata Trusts on 11 October 2024, two days after his half-brother Ratan Tata died. The appointment put him at the helm of the philanthropic institutions that collectively own about 66% of Tata Sons.
Over the past 12 months, differences have emerged between Noel Tata and Tata Sons, led by Chandrasekaran. What began as questions over the group’s losses in new-age businesses soon turned into questions over the leadership itself.
The dispute came to a head on September 17, 2026, when the Tata Sons board reappointed Chandrasekaran for a third five-year term despite Noel’s opposition. The resolution passed 4-1.
The two Trust nominee directors on the board split, Tata voting against and Venu Srinivasan in favour, and independent director Harish Manwani broke the deadlock with a casting vote.
After the September 17 board meeting, Tata called the decision invalid, saying it could not be approved without most of the Trusts’ nominees agreeing. Tata Sons defended the decision, while the Trusts challenged its legality.
