A Battle for Control of India’s Biggest Business Empire

Who actually controls India’s biggest company?

A bitter power struggle over the Tata Group, a 158-year-old conglomerate with more than a million employees worldwide and $180 billion in annual revenue, has become a test of who calls the shots in Indian capitalism: owners, professional managers or the government.

The fight pits the family-led charitable trusts that own two-thirds of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company, against the powerful chairman who runs its businesses. India’s government has emerged as a wild card, pressing Tata Sons to list on the stock market — a move that could permanently reshape its ownership and weaken the founding family’s control.

The conflict simmered for at least a year before bursting into the open. In August, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, one of India’s most celebrated chief executives, stunned the business world by announcing he would not seek another five-year term as chairman. He cited opposition from one board member to his staying beyond February.

That “absence of unanimous support” would hurt the company when “many strategic projects” are under “critical stages of execution,” he wrote in a letter at the time. “Clarity on leadership is important for employees, investors, partners and other stakeholders.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/21/business/tata-india-boardroom-fight.html