- 1 day ago
N Chandrasekaran has announced he will step down as chairman of Tata Sons when his tenure ends in February 2027, prompting the Tata Trust to initiate a selection process for his successor.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, this is NewsTrack and I'm Maria Shaquille.
00:02There is a big vacuum at the top of Tata Suns, the holding company of Tata Group,
00:08after N. Chandra Shekharan announced that he will step down as chairman when his tenure ends in February 2027.
00:15Chandra, who has led the Tata Group since 2017, was confronted by the media today,
00:21but he had no comments on his decision of the succession process.
00:26The Tata Trusts have accepted his decision and formally kick-started the process to find his successor.
00:34A crucial meeting, which is the annual general meeting of Tata Suns, is scheduled for August 18th,
00:41when the succession process will move forward.
00:44The next chairman will inherit a Tata Group valued at over 25 lakh crore,
00:50with major bets underway in aviation, semiconductors, electronics, batteries and new age manufacturing.
00:58So who will replace Chandra?
01:01What role will the Tata Trusts play?
01:04And can the new chairman take forward the massive expansion already underway?
01:11Our detailed report now looks at the leadership vacuum at Tata Suns.
01:16And what next for the Tata Group?
01:2325.3 lakh crore.
01:26That is the combined market value of Tata Group's listed companies,
01:30spanning technology, automobiles, steel, power, aviation, retail, hotels and semiconductors.
01:38But today the empire, once hemmed by the legendary Ratan Tata, faces a major leadership transition.
01:44N. Chandrasekharan, the man who has been steering Tata Group for nearly a decade,
01:49has decided not to seek another term as chairman of Tata Suns.
01:53His current tenure will end on the 20th of February, 2027.
02:10Chandra, as he is fondly known, joined the Tata Group in 1987 and spent decades rising to the ranks of
02:16Tata Consultancy Services.
02:17He became TCS chief in 2009.
02:20Then, after the dramatic exit of Cyrus Mystery, he was chosen in 2017 to become chairman of Tata Suns.
02:27He was the first person from outside the Tata family to lead the group after the Cyrus Mystery episode.
02:33So, what happens next is the question on everyone's mind.
02:37Tata Suns is the principal holding company and the promoter of the Tata Group.
02:42About 66% of Tata Suns is owned by the philanthropic Tata Trust.
02:47The two largest, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, together hold a majority stake.
02:53The Shapuji Pallonji Group is the largest minority shareholder with a little over 18% of the shares.
02:59This means the Tata family doesn't directly run the group through personal ownership.
03:05The process to replace Chandrasekharan began today,
03:08with the Tata Trust issuing a statement saying a resolution has been passed to identify the next chairman
03:13and ensure smooth transition of leadership.
03:16And all eyes are on the annual general meeting scheduled for August 18th.
03:21First, a selection committee will be appointed to identify the next chairman.
03:25The panel will then begin evaluating potential candidates
03:27and is expected to zero in on a name within the next two to three months.
03:31That recommendation will then go before the Tata Suns board for consideration.
03:36But the Trust will have a major say in deciding who is at the helm of the group.
03:41Three members of the selection committee will be nominated by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
03:46and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
03:47First, one member will be nominated by and from the Tata Suns board
03:52and the fifth will be an independent member selected by the Tata Suns board.
03:56The committee will then choose its chairperson from among the three nominees of the two Tata trusts.
04:02The urgency is clear.
04:04Chandrasekharan's tenure ends in February 2027,
04:07leaving limited time for the incoming chairman to work with him
04:10and ensure a smooth, seamless transition at the top of the Tata group.
04:14One name during the rounds is TV Narendran,
04:17the veteran Tata executive and CEO and managing director of Tata Steel.
04:21He has spent decades within the Tata group and understands its businesses and culture.
04:26There is also the possibility of a different leadership structure altogether,
04:30with a non-executive chairman working alongside a CEO and other senior executives.
04:35From Ratan Tata's global expansion to Chandrasekharan's push into aviation,
04:40semiconductors and new-edge manufacturing,
04:42the Tata group has already undergone several transformations.
04:46Now comes another.
04:47The question is, who will lead the Tata group into its next chapter?
04:52Vero Report, India Today.
04:57And there are three big questions that now need answers.
05:01Question one, who replaces N. Chandrasekharan?
05:05The first priority is to find the next chairman.
05:08Under Chandrasekharan, Tata made major bets on aviation,
05:12semiconductors, electronics, batteries and new-age manufacturing.
05:16Air India is now undergoing a massive turnaround,
05:18while the group's new manufacturing businesses require huge investments.
05:23So the challenge is to find someone who can take forward the strategy Chandra has already set in motion.
05:30Question two, what happens to the Tata Sun's IPO?
05:35A potential IPO could unlock enormous value and give greater liquidity to minority shareholders.
05:42But it would also mean greater disclosure, public market scrutiny
05:46and potentially change the balance between the Tata Trust's minority shareholders and professional management.
05:53And with the RBI classifying Tata Sun's as an upper-layered NBFC,
05:59its regulatory status remains central to the listing question.
06:04Now question three, what role will Noel Tata play?
06:08Noel Tata, remember, became chairman of the Tata Trusts after Ratan Tata's death in 2024.
06:14The Trusts control about 66% of Tata Sun's and Noel also sits on its board as their nominee.
06:23So the question is, does he back a professional chairman to continue Chandra's strategy,
06:28push for changes at Tata Sun's or seek a greater role for the Trusts?
06:35To answer all these questions, I am being joined by Shankar Iyer, political economy analyst, author, columnist.
06:42We have Shriram Subramanian, who is an MD at InGovern, corporate governance.
06:47Also Krishna Gopalan, executive editor of business today.
06:51I'm going to begin with you, Shankar.
06:54Chandrasekharan's exit after a six-month deadlock has again exposed the tension between Tata Trusts and the operating board.
07:01In a group that is both a commercial powerhouse and a national institution,
07:07who should ultimately hold the decision, or should I say the decisive voice on who next, the Trusts or the
07:14board?
07:17Well, there's a process in place.
07:19The Trusts will have to hold the decisive voice because they own Tata itself.
07:24Tata is only the way between public Trusts and the public facing Tata listed companies.
07:31So it will be the Trusts hold.
07:33My own sense is that there will be an executive chairman, probably Noel Chatha,
07:40and Narendran or Bhad Bhat, one of the two who are being placed as the possible candidate for replacing Chandra.
07:49The question really, Maria, is who will you find, who will be decided by what is the condition of the
07:59group?
07:59The condition of the group is it has, in the last year, had about a group,
08:05profits of Abilqa, combined losses of about 27,000 kush.
08:11Okay, this is the first hole.
08:13The second hole is that they have to find an exit for the Shapurji Mistry Family Trust.
08:20The third is that they have to adhere to the Reserve Bank's NBFC clause.
08:26Now, all of these require certain amount of management.
08:30The Charta group has gone into areas where it possibly will do well,
08:35because Charta, if you remember, has been forefront of TCS when Pakir Chandkoli established TCS.
08:42It has been in the forefront of technology with Honey.
08:44So it's not like a stranger to technology and the long distance between technology investment and the returns.
08:54But here is the question, Maria, is that how do they find an exit from the losses?
09:02And how do they find an exit for Shapurji Mistry Family?
09:06Those are the two big questions which will determine who will sit as the next leader of Charta.
09:14Okay, let me bring in Sriram Subramanian now.
09:18Beyond personality, Mr. Subramanian, what does this succession movement tell us about
09:23the evolving power balance between old industrial houses, professional managers
09:30and philanthropic trusts in India's political economy?
09:33Is Charta still the template?
09:36Or is it now an exception under strain?
09:41Good evening.
09:42I would think that, as is any other promoter group,
09:48the Tata Trust also is exerting its powers in that sense as a promoter.
09:56And we have Tata also are displaying the very traits that a single promoter individual usually exerts.
10:10I would think the same happened even when Mr. Ratan Tata was there with the trust.
10:18And now it's going to continue to happen with Noel Tata.
10:23So, I don't think we can say that Tata group is an exception.
10:28It continues to demonstrate or have characteristics or traits of a promoter-led group,
10:35where a single individual determines and usually has a power which is more than what their shareholding is,
10:42which is more than what their, I would say, stature is.
10:47And usually it is exerted through influence, through shareholding and power which is drawn over a period of time.
10:57Okay. Before I ask another question related to Noel Tata, I'll get a word also from Krishna.
11:04Krishna, you know, there is another name which is being spoken of, which is TV Narendran.
11:09Beyond the usual internal candidates, is the group perhaps prepared to look outside of the selection committee,
11:16decides the next phase, needs a different kind of leadership?
11:22Well, just to go back in time, they tried the same exercise when they were looking for a replacement for
11:27Mr. Ratan Tata.
11:28And one of the names that came up at that point in time was Indra Nooyi, the former boss of
11:32PepsiCo.
11:33A lot of talk eventually took place, but I think the truth be told,
11:37eventually it has to be somebody with substantial time spent in the Tata group.
11:42And that's where it really worked very well for Chandra, because it does.
11:45As Sriram did mention, the whole idea is to ensure that the person understands what the nuances of the Tata
11:50group culture is.
11:51So it's pretty unlikely that it'll be somebody from outside.
11:54I'd still would put my money on a group inside, only for the reason that if he or she spent
11:58time within a group,
11:59it's easier to relate to the complexity of multiple businesses that take place.
12:03Please understand, because we're speaking of a conglomerate,
12:06sort-to-sortware is merely a euphemism for how complicated the whole group is.
12:09So you need somebody who can navigate businesses, cultures, and bring a bunch of people together.
12:13And that's anything but easy in a group like Tata's.
12:16Okay. Sriram, the question now on Noel Tata.
12:19He had flagged the absence of succession planning more than once.
12:23Yet the group reached a public standoff.
12:26From a governance standpoint, was this a failure of process, of culture,
12:31or of alignment between the trusts and the board?
12:36Definitely there is a misalignment between the trusts, the vision, or the strategy of the trusts,
12:44where the trusts see the Tata sons headed and the other Tata groups headed,
12:51too, with the management of Tata sons itself.
12:55That is, there is definitely misalignment between Mr. Chandrasekharan and the rest of the board
13:00and the trust itself.
13:03Also to be pointed out is the trust is not one single entity either.
13:08The trustees also have had divisions in the last one year,
13:14and that is also spilled out in the public domain.
13:18But be that as it may be, the trust at least is trying to exert its control over Tata sons
13:26through various, I would say, asks in that sense.
13:30One of the asks being that the loss-making entities be turned around quickly.
13:35The other ask being that Chandra's tenure be not for five years.
13:40It will only be till the retirement age of 65, which is a Tata group policy.
13:46So, all these, I think, are manifest as the asks of the trusts exerted on the board
13:54and leading to the resignation or this one of N. Chandrasekharan.
14:01Okay.
14:02Shankar, the next chairman inherits TCS in the AI transition,
14:08and Air India still being rebuilt,
14:11and unresolved questions around Tata sons' listing.
14:16What profile of leader does this specific moment actually demand?
14:20A proven operator from within or someone who can reset capital allocation and culture?
14:29Well, very simply, Maria, the Tata group is really a public sector undertaking in some senses,
14:40because of the number of public trusts and the public shareholding and a very public profile.
14:45It has been at the fault of India's industrialization.
14:48So, the group has, national economy has a state in Tata's,
14:53and Tata's has to sort of work through that.
14:56The person who leads the group now has to have a global profile
15:03and ability to get along with the government.
15:07And, finally, or most importantly, a scheme of financial engineering.
15:14What's happening in the Tata group is still now TCS, the cash cow,
15:18was sort of providing the dividends which fund all their activities.
15:22Now that TCS is on its own threat of AI and other things,
15:29the top line is shrinking, and the loss line is expanding.
15:33So, you have to find ways to do the financial engineering.
15:37I mean, there are ways, of course.
15:39You know, not all Tata companies are closely held by the trust.
15:43There will be companies with the Tata's more than 40%, 50%,
15:48so they could have public issues, they can expand the public holding Tata capital,
15:54they can expand the public holding of TCS.
15:57There are ways to do this, and ways to do it.
16:00I mean, the first ask of the goal will be to raise capital
16:03and enable the mysteries, the Shafi Palenji mystery family,
16:08to sort of find some, you know, put up deadline,
16:14to thank people for their exit.
16:16And one thing that Noelta is likely to do is have an IPO of Tata's sons
16:23before he finds an exit for the Shafi Palenji family.
16:27So, these two alignments decide who the person is at the top of Tata's sons.
16:34And this person will most likely be from within the group
16:38because they don't want to get another person in the same old story of Cyrus.
16:43So, here the story will, the challenge will be to find somebody from within the group.
16:51And also, structurally, I think there will be an executive chairman and executive CEO position.
16:58I think when you spoke about the succession plan earlier,
17:03I think there has been a bigger fault is of that of the trusts,
17:09which did not sort of exert as to where was succession when Chandra started his second term.
17:18So, those things, you know, they will have to repair now.
17:21They put a process in this.
17:24And how this conversation between the stakeholders, the managers and public shareholders.
17:31Okay.
17:32That is the stage.
17:33Okay. Let me give the last word to Krishna Gopalan.
17:36Krishna, you know, as a journalist following this story very, very closely,
17:39what will you be watching out for before 18th?
17:43Because that's going to be a crucial meeting which will be held on that day.
17:47Well, I think for one, the reappointment of Chandra as the director on the board of Tata's sons,
17:53obviously, is a big one.
17:54Because if that doesn't work, then obviously means he has to step down immediately.
17:59So, I think that's really the immediate cause for concern in that sense.
18:01But more importantly, I think his sense of direction,
18:03it's very clear that other things have been in concern.
18:06He will be in charge to the 20th of Feb next year.
18:08So, if a sense of continuity or stability is what I'd be looking at.
18:11Because the person who does take charge, let's assume the selection committee,
18:15of course, they will get to work immediately.
18:18And if, let's assume they take about two months to choose the candidate,
18:22that person, he or she, will then have to work with Chandra through a period of transition
18:25and ensure that he's ready for the top job by the end of Feb.
18:29So, I think more than anything else, a sense of certainty and seamless transition
18:32is what I'd be looking at.
18:34All right.
18:34Thank you for joining us.
18:35Krishna Gopalan, Shankaraiya, Sriram Subramanian for this conversation.
18:41Shifting focus to another story now.
18:43This one is the Bar Council of India, which has already done a U-turn
18:47after facing massive backlash over its controversial order,
18:51directing that no student graduating from Nalsar,
18:55which is the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research at Hyderabad,
18:59in 2026 be enrolled as an advocate by any state Bar Council until further order.
19:06The decision was taken after a section of Nalsar students opposed Chief Justice of India,
19:11Surya Khan, attending the convocation as the chief guest over his cockroach remarks.
19:16The Bar Council has now clarified that students will be entitled to get enrolled
19:21with the state Bar Councils of their choice.
19:24The council will wait for the inquiry report of the Vice Chancellor
19:27and the further action will be taken after the report.
19:31Remember, it took public outrage for the regulator to reverse a collective punishment
19:35that should have never been issued in the first place.
19:38The original order was not regulation.
19:41It was an overreach that turned a campus representation into a loyalty test
19:47and in the process certainly caused more discomfort for the institution it claimed to protect.
19:53Let me bring in Anisha Mathur, who's joining us live.
19:58Anisha, why was it issued in the first place?
20:03Well, that's a very good question, Maria Chati.
20:06We've been trying to contact the Bar Council of India.
20:09Remember, the first letter came on the official email of the Bar Council of India
20:14sent to all journalists, sent to the Vice Chancellor of Nalsar,
20:19sent to all state Bar Councils,
20:21where the letter which was signed by the Bar Council Chairman Manan Mishra,
20:26who's also a sitting Rajasabha MP,
20:28said that the action of the students in sending the letter
20:33against the Chief Justice of India, opposing his attendance at the convocation,
20:38in fact violated the ethics and behavioral norms under the Advocates Act.
20:44And that is why they have asked the VC of Nalsar to conduct an inquiry
20:50about who instigated these tools.
20:53In two hours, by 8.30pm, there was so much backlash
20:57that the Bar Council of India, as a council, issued a clarification letter.
21:03They said that the order saying that they will not be allowed to enroll,
21:07that is being taken back.
21:08No student will be penalized in this manner.
21:11But remember, Maria, the inquiry that has been requested from the VC
21:16is still in existence.
21:19That inquiry report has still been called for.
21:21In fact, the second letter that has been said that now says
21:26this letter is with the concurrence of the entire Bar Council
21:30still says that outsiders and teachers instigated the students.
21:36Now, the reason why this is so controversial
21:38is that these students have not gone on a dharna.
21:41These students have done nothing except send a letter
21:43to their Vice-Chancellor saying that we have a certain objection
21:47to the guests that you have invited for our convocation.
21:51They have not violated any laws,
21:54they have not done any dharna,
21:55they haven't done any pradarshans,
21:56they haven't done anything except send a letter.
21:59And the questions that are being asked,
22:01whether it's on social media,
22:02whether it's by senior lawyers, ex-judges,
22:04is how exactly did the Bar Council
22:06issue this kind of a direction in the first place?
22:09Back to you.
22:10Okay, thank you so much for joining us.
22:11Shifting focus to our last story of the day.
22:13And this is a striking sign of transformation.
22:17At the National Handloom Day,
22:19celebrations in Raipur rehabilitated Naksal women
22:23from Bastar and Sukma,
22:25walked the ramp with confidence,
22:27dressed in traditional ensembles by Chhattisgarh Handloom.
22:31It was a powerful glimpse of Bastar's changing story.
22:35Once associated with a life of violence and weapons,
22:38these women are now embracing a new path,
22:42built on skill, culture and dignity.
22:46And together they have sent a message
22:48that Bastar's new identity is being shaped
22:51not by guns,
22:52but by skill, culture and self-reliance.
22:56And earlier I spoke to some of these women
22:58who in fact had walked the ramp.
23:00For the benefit of our viewers,
23:02we have paraded up their responses
23:04as they were speaking in the local language.
23:09Let me bring in Poonam Dewe.
23:11Poonam ji, my question first of all is this.
23:14After surrendering, how did you suffer?
23:26Fighting for jungle was good experience,
23:29but I'm happy here too.
23:30After the surrender,
23:31I'm learning different skills.
23:33It's a nice experience to meet so many people.
23:46And I also met Vishnadev Sai,
24:02Dr. Raman Singh and Girendra Yadav.
24:05See everyone together, yes,
24:07and I haven't seen all the stuff they're going.
24:10Going there, you tour all over Raipur in one day.
24:13How can I see everything after visiting?
24:16Now let me bring in other women
24:18who actually gave up guns.
24:20Madhvi Nandani,
24:40I was with the Naxalites and we used to live in the jungle.
24:43After coming from there,
24:45I started thinking that many incidents involving explosives
24:48could happen and that I might even die.
24:51So I decided to surrender.
24:53After surrendering and coming here,
24:55as we began the rehabilitation process,
24:58we went to Raipur.
24:59There, I got to see new Raipur,
25:01something I had never seen before
25:03when I was living in the jungle.
25:05He took us on a bus
25:06where we sang songs
25:08and had fun.
25:26He hadn't even told us beforehand
25:28what the program would entail.
25:30After arriving there,
25:31we met Amish sir.
25:33He gathered information from everyone
25:35and explained
25:36that we would be spending six days together
25:38in a state of happiness and mindfulness.
25:41He then taught us
25:43how to sit and how to eat mindfully.
25:45He explained
25:46that although we were used to eating with our hands,
25:50we would now learn to eat with spoons.
25:52After that, we went to Raipur.
25:58So, that was the conversation
26:01that I had with those women
26:03earlier today.
26:04Very, very inspiring story is there.
26:07We are putting out
26:07the entire discussion
26:08on our website
26:09and also on the YouTube channel.
26:11Thanks so much for watching.
Comments