22 - 09 - 2026

NCP chief Sharad Pawar throws his weight behind Tata Trusts

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has thrown his weight behind Tata Trusts stating its social commitment and institutional role must be preserved.

The Tata group is a national institution rooted in Maharashtra, and its charitable ownership must be protected. The articles adopted by shareholders that give trust nominated directors an affirmative vote on key decisions including the Chairman’s appointment, should be honoured, Pawar said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Leadership decisions should be settled with the consent of Tata Trusts as the majority owner, through dialogue and due process rather than disputes.

The Articles of the Group give the majority owner’s nominees a decisive voice in choosing the Chairman, and that agreement should be respected, as that is the very design of the Tata Group.

“We must protect the Group that devoted itself to the development of India,” he said in the tweet.

“Shri Jamsetji Tata’s vision, carried forward by Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan Tata, was that wealth created by the enterprise returns to society. Their holdings were placed in trusts precisely so that no individual would own the group, and the majority stakeholder of the business would be by trusts that are dedicated to charitable objectives. Therefore, the ownership structure of Tata Sons embraces philanthropy,” the tweet said.

Operating companies sit under Tata Sons, and Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, with allied trusts, own about 66 per cent of Tata Sons.

“This design is deliberate, not incidental. Therefore, good business, thereby the dividends fund public good. Dividends on the trusts’ majority stake flow directly into health, education, research and rural livelihoods,” he added.

Weakening the Trusts weakens institutions the country’s and state’s people depend on. For over a century, the trusts have been long-term owners who put values and reputation ahead of short-term returns. That patience is why the Tata name carries public trust.

Earlier in August, Tata Sons’ Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran resigned.

Tata Sons’ board, at its meeting on September 17, 2026, voted to re-appoint N. Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman for a further term of five years, after he agreed to re-consider resignation.

Tata Sons’ board has shown poor judgment in choices at its September 17 board meeting, with its decisions appearing to be “rushed” and undermining the principle of thoughtful deliberations, according to a report by Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Limited (IiAS).

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