A marathon six-and-a-half-hour Tata Sons board meeting at Bombay House exposed deep friction between Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and Noel Tata, the Chairman of the principal shareholder, Tata Trusts.
The high-stakes meeting was called to review a three-year roadmap aimed at narrowing massive bleeding across the group’s newer business ventures. However, internal friction remains high as the combined losses of these new bets surged to over ₹29,000 crore in FY26—a staggering five-fold jump from the group’s initial projection of ₹5,700 crore.
Inside the Corporate Face-Off
Noel Tata, supported by independent director Harish Manwani and Tata Trusts vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan, raised pointed questions regarding the massive volume of capital being consumed by these businesses.
Despite Chandrasekaran presenting a financial overview slide forecasting a turnaround within three years, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Noel Tata remained unconvinced that the aggressive targets were achievable.
Detailed Breakdown of the New Businesses
The board scrutinized the individual performance and financial health of the five new core growth engines:
| New Business | FY26 Financial Status | Key Board Concerns / Takeaways |
| Air India |
₹26,800 Crore Loss (12-fold increase YoY) |
The biggest cash drain. Requires heavy, immediate capital infusion. Noel Tata deferred formal funding decisions to the upcoming June board meeting. |
| Tata Digital | Highly Unprofitable | Criticized for an excessively high cost base. Portfolio companies came under fire: BigBasket for razor-thin margins and high variable costs, and Croma for failing to turn a profit despite mild improvements. |
| Tata Electronics |
Broke Even (Revenues crossed ₹1 Lakh Crore) |
The sole bright spot. Noel Tata commended the massive scale-up but demanded a distinct fiscal break-up across its three individual arms: mobile components, semiconductor fab, and OSAT operations. |
| Agratas (Batteries) | Skipped during meeting | Presentations deferred to a later date due to lack of time. |
| Tejas Networks | Skipped during meeting | Presentations deferred to a later date due to lack of time. |
What Lies Ahead for Tata Leadership
While Chandrasekaran maintained that a concrete plan is in place to sequentially narrow these operational losses over the next 36 months, the internal pushback comes at a highly sensitive time. The chairman’s formal contract renewal and reappointment timeline still remain officially unresolved.
No formal resolutions or votes were cast during Tuesday’s performance review. The true test for the group’s strategic roadmap will take place on June 8, 2026, when the Tata Sons board reconvenes to officially finalize and approve the annual accounts.
