Tata Trusts Trustees Clash Over New Appointments Amid Regulatory Changes

In the latest development within the Tata Trusts, a disagreement has emerged among the trustees over the induction of new members. According to the article, Venu Srinivasan, the vice-chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), has expressed reservations about the appointment of Neville Tata, the son of Trusts chairman Noel Tata, and Bhaskar Bhat, a former chief of Titan Industries.

While the SDTT went ahead and appointed Neville and Bhat, the SRTT did not. Srinivasan reportedly stated that their induction was not on the agenda and needed further discussion. This disagreement comes as a new Maharashtra government ordinance has now limited permanent trustees to a quarter of the board, making the earlier decision to appoint Srinivasan as a permanent trustee invalid.

As a result, Srinivasan did not attend the SDTT meeting where Neville and Bhat's appointments were approved. Noel Tata, the chairman, recused himself from voting on Neville's candidature. The SRTT board meeting that followed saw further disagreements, with Srinivasan expressing surprise at the inductions and rejecting the resolution, leading to Neville and Bhat not being appointed to the SRTT board.

This is the third such episode of differences among the Tata Trusts trustees in the past two months, highlighting the ongoing tensions within the organization.