Tata Sons listing: Srinivasan, Singh rebut Khambata on RBI engagement

Tata Trusts vice-chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have rejected senior advocate Darius Khambata's criticism of the group's engagement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over the listing of Tata Sons. In a joint letter on 11 November, they argued that the regulator's verdict to reject deregistration was not a failure of advocacy, noting that the engagement began in 2023 and trustees were kept informed throughout.

The letter defended listing as consistent with the Tata model, citing international examples like Novo Nordisk and domestic ones like Tata Consultancy Services. It also challenged Khambata's claim that listing would threaten the Trusts' role, saying shareholding, dividends and philanthropy would be unaffected. The two trustees questioned Khambata's opposition to the reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman, noting a seven-month delay had compromised the office's dignity.

Khambata had earlier described 17 September, when the Tata Sons board backed listing and deferred Chandrasekaran's reappointment, as a day of infamy for the group. The RBI had in September 2022 classified Tata Sons as an upper-layer NBFC, mandating listing within three years, and rejected its deregistration application in September 2026.