A year after Ratan Tata: India's 'corporate soul' gets pierced

The 156-year old group faces one of its biggest crises due to discord at Tata Trusts

- URVI MALVANIA & JOYDEEP GHOSH

BEGINNING TODAY, A series of remembrance events will mark the first death anniversary of Ratan Tata, who passed away on this day a year ago.

Though his presence would be missed forever, the larger Tata family comprising employees, customers and other stakeholders would miss him more for the unfortunate discord at Tata Trusts, which has a significant say over how Tata Sons, the group’s holding company, operates.

Tata Trusts, with a 66% stake in Tata Sons, has been known to be fiercely protective of its turf. Being the guardian of a 156-year-old group, it is to be expected. So much so that any investment or key decision exceeding even ₹100 crore requires the approval of Tata Trusts (which includes Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, among others).

But the past decade has seen the biggest shareholder of the old group getting mired in controversies. After the ugly spat to remove ex-chairman Cyrus Mis-try played out in 2016, the latest infighting involving chairman Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan on one side versus Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir HC Jehangir, and Darius Khambata on the other, overboard appointments and governance issues has landed up in the government’s court—something that has never happened before.