Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran briefs Trusts board directly on business performance, upcoming plans
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Mumbai: Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran briefed the board of Tata Trusts about the conglomerate's performance and plans in a closed-door meeting at Bombay House on Tuesday, in what long-time group watchers said was a notable departure from precedent.Present at the meeting were Noel Tata , Mehli Mistry, Venu Srinivasan, Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata, Vijay Singh and Jehangir C Jehangir. The move to update the entire board of trustees had been initiated by the chairman, people aware of the matter said.According to group insiders, a Tata Sons chairman never directly briefed the Trusts board during the tenure of late group patriarch Ratan Tata — it's a first. Traditionally, trust nominees on board of Tata Sons apprise the board of Tata Trusts on key developments and areas.The Trusts own a controlling 66% in the group holding company.00:19 -They comprise philanthropies endowed by members of the founding family. Nominees of Tata Trusts on the board of Tata Sons include Noel Tata, Srinivasan and Singh. Noel Tata is also chairman of Tata Trusts.The update covered progress in the group's high-stakes bets across semiconductors, electric mobility, the consumer app ecosystem and Air India , said the people cited. Tata has committed over Rs 1.84 lakh crore in these segments in recent years.It also included the group's response to the June 12 Air India crash incident in Ahmedabad, with details about regulatory compliance and relief measures provided to members.People aware of the matter said the two-hour discussion covered all group businesses and plans.Chandrasekaran spoke to the trustees about the progress made in units such as Tata Digital, Tata Electronics and Air India in terms of business revenue, challenges, profits and valuations.Insiders said Tata Sons may be pushing to make communication with its largest shareholder on its ambitious strategy to make the group future-ready as transparent as possible. 'The capital allocation done by the holding company in new businesses has been the largest in its history,' an official pointed out.Tata Sons did not comment.'The direct update to Trusts is a first that way for Tata Sons. The intention was to ensure all the trustees are fully apprised of Tata Sons' position and forward strategy,' said one of the persons cited. 'A significant time was also spent in discussing the help and support offered to Air India crash victims, updates on ongoing investigations and fleet safety aspects.'Chandrasekaran elaborated on the status of Air India's compensation disbursements and assistance to passengers as well as compliance with regulatory protocols by the airline, which was acquired by Tata group in 2022 in a privatisation exercise.While Tata Trusts does not play an operational role in day-to-day business affairs, the chairman's presentation is seen as significant in keeping the trusts aligned with group-level strategic priorities, especially in areas of capital allocation and social responsibility, insiders said.'The open discussion helps open communication of group plans, priorities and expectations between Tata Sons and the Trusts,' said a highly placed executive.Tata Sons is injecting fresh capital of ?30,000 crore into its emerging ventures, including Tata Digital, Tata Electronics and Air India, as well as the defence and battery units. This funding will be in addition to the $120 billion already committed to the new businesses in recent years.
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