Tag: Ratan Tata

Tata Trusts may soon get its first vice-chairman: report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tata group is planning on a succession plan and may induct Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran as one of the trustees for Tata Trusts, Business Standard reported.

Chandrasekaran, who assumed the post in January 2017, could also be subsequently named vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, the report said citing unidentified sources. Presently Tata Trusts is chaired by Ratan Tata.

N A Soonawala and RK Krishna Kumar, the former Tata Sons directors and trustees, are also considered for the position of the vice-chairmanship, the report said.

Earlier, Tata Trusts and Tata Son had a single chairman till the time Ratan Tata headed the group. This changed soon after when Cyrus Mistry chaired the Tata Sons in December 2012, while Ratan Tata continued to head the trust, the report added.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bombay House, Tata Group’s iconic headquarters reopened after restoration

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tata Group has re-opened today its iconic headquarters, the ‘Bombay House.’ The reopening of the structure that was closed for nearly a year for restoration was done to mark the 114th birth anniversary of former Chairman, JRD Tata, said the company press release.

The reopened building was inaugurated by Ratan Tata in the presence of Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and other employees.

“It’s a historic occasion and a great tribute to reopen the new Bombay House on JRD Tata birth anniversary. The renovation of this 94-year-old heritage building, the first in its history, has revolved around designing for the employees a more modern, collaborative and informal workplace equipped with the best of technologies and security systems,” Chandrasekaran was quoted saying in the release.

Built on the two plots of land bought by Sir Dorabji Tata from the Bombay Municipality in 1920, the iconic structure was designed by George Wittet, the architect of the Gateway of India.

As per the release, the structure has been provided with several new features including a grand entrance, art installations besides a digital museum among others to give visitors a vibrant experience.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ex-Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne loved India and shared great rapport with Ratan Tata

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Every Indian who has lived through the 1950s will remember the Premier Padmini or 1100, which was brought to India by Fiat under the Italian car maker’s license.

The Padmini entered the Mumbai taxi market in the late-60s and is associated with Mumbai’s culture till date.

Decades later, the storied carmaker is still a favourite among youngsters though its new Jeep Compass SUV.

But the man behind the wheel of Fiat Chrysler is no more.

Sergio Marchionne, the former chief executive officer of Fiat died on Wednesday following complications during a surgery at a Zurich hospital.

Marchionne loved India and Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata group, Mark T. Allen, director of the Jeep’s design studio told Mint last year.

The two were so close that upon Tata’s insistence, Marchionne swung the decision to bring Jeep Compass to India, something that was considered as a ridiculous proposition when the vehicle was conceptualized.

“There is a real warm relationship between Mr Ratan Tata and our chairman (Marchionne). That’s probably how it happened. That’s probably the genesis of how we ended up by doing this car in India,” Allen told Mint in an interview in Goa last year.

When Marchionne was two years into his role as CEO of Fiat, he had visited the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2006 and posed with Tata to signal a new alliance with Tata Motors. The tie-up went horribly wrong for the Italian firm, forcing it to significantly scale down Fiat’s operations in the country and introduce Jeep.

But that didn’t strain ties between the two industry veterans.

“We are friends first and businessmen second,” Marchionne told the Hindu Business Line newspaper in 2008.

“Sure, we have had differences of view which have been quickly reconciled, but never a fundamental disagreement. There are times I discuss the weirdest things with Ratan, but that is the way we are.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Cyrus Mistry looked to undermine board’s authority, reveals NCLT ruling

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The National Company Law Tribunal in its ruling slammed Cyrus Mistry saying he looked to undermine the authority of the majority shareholders of Tata Sons.

“If you see the correspondence and transactions happened under the stewardship of Mr. Cyrus, it is evident on record that Mr. Cyrus created a situation that since he being the executive chairman of the company, he is not accountable either to majority shareholders or to the trusts nominee directors,” the bench noted in its judgement.

The NCLT further noted that Ratan Tata was not in the wrong for suggesting business ideas to Mistry, as the latter had asked for Tata’s advice on a number of issues.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday announced its verdict in a case involving former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and the group, drawing the curtains on an 18-months long feud.

Key Highlight:

“These petitioners utterly failed to prove that Mr. Tata and Mr. Soonawala  acted prejudicial either to the interest of the company or to the interest of the petitioners.”

Other Takeaways From The NCLT Judgement:

• “On reading e-mail correspondence and other letters, from Mr. Cyrus to Mr. Tata and Mr. Soonawala and others and also from Mr. Tata and Soonawala to Mr. Cyrus, on reading either side correspondence, it is evident that Mr. Tata as well as Soonawala responded to the advices sought not only by Mr. Cyrus but also from other officers of Tata Sons as well as group companies.”
• “There is fleet of letters from Mr. Cyrus asking advice on various issues, when
  such is the case, can it be held out that Mr. Tata suggesting business idea for the cause of the company is wrong?”
• “Is it the idea of Mr. Cyrus that the majority shareholders should not say anything about the business of the company wherein Trusts have majority shareholder?”
• “Is there any one instance in the history of the company or in Tata Group Company, at least in the regime of Mr. Cyrus that Mr. Tata’s advice has been directly put into action without placing before the respective board? At least I have not found any such action which has not been approved by the Board of
  respective companies in relation to the issues raised by the petitioners or by Mr. Cyrus.”
• “Mr. Tata is heading the Trusts holding more than 66% shareholding, that is  2/3 of the shareholding, by virtue of this majority as per rule of democracy, these companies have to be run at the wish of majority that is the Trusts headed by Mr. Tata.”
• “The petitioners so disgustingly tried to drag in the concept of shadow directors to tag Mr. Tata and Mr. Soonawala advices as work of shadow directors, that is a concept in fact put in to bring underlying actors promoting defaults or unlawful actions, which is alien to the concept of oppression and mismanagement.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ratan Tata to share dais with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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After former president Pranab Mukherjee attended a function in RSS headquarters in Nagpur last month, Ratan Tata, one of India’s top industrialists and chairman of Tata Trusts, is set to share the stage with the party chief Mohan Bhagwat at an event in Mumbai next month, reported The Economic Times.

Nana Palkar Smriti Samiti (NPSS), an RSS-affiliated NGO dedicated to service of patients, is learnt to have invited Tata along with Bhagwat for its annual event, the report said, adding that though a formal announcement of the programme is yet to be made, the event will reportedly take place on August 24.

NPSS has its 10 storied premises near the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai and has been reportedly serving primarily the patients from the cancer hospital, the daily said

Tata Trusts have been involved in various charity projects in Nagpur and in December 2016, Ratan Tata had met Bhagwat when he visited the RSS headquarter, the report added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

End of the road for Nano? Just 1 unit produced in June

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tata Motors’ small car Nano is inching closer towards the end of its journey with just one unit produced in June, although the company maintained that no decision has been taken yet on stopping its production.

The entry-level car, the brainchild of Ratan Tata who envisaged giving a safer and affordable alternative to families riding on two-wheelers, sold just three units last month in the domestic market.

In terms of production, only one unit was produced last month as against 275 units in June 2017.

Domestic sales were at three units in June as against 167 units in the year-ago month.

When contacted for comments on whether the company has taken a decision to stop Nano production, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, “We are well aware that the Nano in its present form cannot continue beyond 2019 and may need fresh investments to survive. No decision has been made yet in this regard.”

The spokesperson further said, “Meanwhile, we continue to produce Nano catering to customer demand in key markets.”

Nano, which was unveiled in January 2008 at the Auto Expo with much expectations of being the people’s car, could not live up to the billing.

The car was launched in the market in March 2009 with an initial price of close to Rs 1 lakh for the basic model despite cost escalations, with Ratan Tata insisting that “a promise is a promise”.

However, from the beginning, Nano courted trouble. It was originally planned to be rolled out from Tata Motors’ proposed plant at Singur in West Bengal, where it faced intense political and farmer protests against land acquisition.

The company had to shift its production to a new plant at Sanand in Gujarat.
Instances of the car catching fire initially after it was launched didn’t help its cause either.

Ratan Tata had admitted that the company made the mistake of promoting the Nano as ‘the cheapest car’.

It became a loss-making model for Tata Motors with ex-Tata Sons chairman Mistry, who was abruptly removed from the post, even went on to claim that the Nano “consistently lost value, peaking at Rs 1,000 crore”.

Mistry also termed the Nano as one of the “legacy hotspots” and there was “no line of sight to profitability for the Nano, any turnaround strategy”.

He had also claimed that Tata Motors did not stop producing the car due to “emotional reasons”.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow