The crisis in the Tata group is not just a boardroom battle between Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry. It is a conflict between two ideas of doing business, between the old “Tata way” of taking a long-term perspective on investment and a new brash way of seeking quick returns.
The 148-year-old house of Tatas, the pioneering industrial conglomerate that is widely admired for its brand of classy capitalism and the panache with which it conducts its business, is in the throes of its deepest-ever leadership crisis. The swift, sudden and unceremonious eviction of Cyrus Pallonji Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company that controls a hundred business entities belonging to the group, on October 24 shocked not just the world of business but the wider public too. In a terse statement, the group announced that Mistry, who was at the helm for less than four years, would be replaced by Ratan Tata, his predecessor, as the interim chairman, with a tenure of four months during which a successor to Mistry would be found.
The eviction of Mistry threatens to engulf the House of Tatas in an unseemly battle which threatens to draw its attention away from the business end of its interests. Mistry, who succeeded Ratan Tata at the helm, first as an understudy to him in 2011 before assuming full-scale responsibilities as chairman in December 2012, also controls the largest single block of shares in Tata Sons.
This is by virtue of him being the representative of the Shapoorji Pallonji group, an industrial conglomerate whose interests are primarily focussed on the construction business. Incidentally, the group traces its origin back to the time the Tatas established their empire in 1868. But, more germane to the current fracas is the fact that this large block of shares, constituting 18.4 per cent of Tata Sons, can create a few headaches for Ratan Tata.
This story is from the November 25, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 25, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
Job Offers Withdrawn, Internships Now Unpaid
Engineering and business school graduates stare at a bleak future as job offers are withdrawn or revised, while delays in joining dates add to the climate of uncertainty.
In search of a road map
It is now increasingly clear that the government did not think through and provide for the consequences of the lockdown.
Clueless captain
As the nation longs for relief from the pandemic and the economic misery caused by an ill-planned lockdown, the government prefers symbolism over substance, exposing its lack of meaningful leadership.
RISING TREND
There are no signs of any let-up in the COVID case numbers well into the third phase of the lockdown even as issues of violation of physical distancing norms, mistreatment of front-line health workers, inadequate public health infrastructure and increasing distress among the poor come to the fore in most States, besides of course the low testing numbers and haphazard screening and isolation of suspect cases.
Dystopian pipe dream
The reluctance of the Narendra Modi regime to extend fiscal support to those in real need of help during a prolonged lockdown suggests that it is promoting further concentration of capital. Dire consequences await the economy and the polity.
