Tata Trusts may consider retirement age for trustees

MUMBAI: Tata Trusts vice-chairman Vijay Singh attended the board meeting of Tata Sons on Friday, a day after resigning from his directorship. Since he had already resigned, he couldn’t vote on any board agenda items but was invited to the meeting by Tata Sons to show appreciation for the contributions he had made to the board, sources said.Singh was a nominee director of Tata Trusts, the force behind Tata Sons, but at Friday’s board meeting, he did not hold any special power as a nominee.Unlike other directors at Tata Sons, Tata Trusts’ nominee directors have significant influence, with the ability to block crucial agenda items such as acquisitions or capex programmes exceeding Rs 100 crore. Nevertheless, they cannot make decisions independently but require the majority approval of Tata Trusts trustees. All the agenda items concerning Air India, Tata International, and Tata Capital were passed except for one investment proposal that was not approved by Tata Trusts, sources said. This proposal will be revisited at the next Tata Sons board meeting once the largest shareholder gives its nod. Following Singh’s exit, Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan are the other two nominee directors at Tata Sons. Both were present at the meeting held at Bombay House, the Tata Group’s HQ. Singh, a former defence secretary, was on the board of Tata Sons for eight years but in two separate stints. He resigned from the board of Tata Sons on Thursday after losing support from the majority of Tata Trusts’ trustees. While nominee directors do not have a mandatory retirement age, their appointments are reviewed once they turn 75. Singh, who is 77, however, remains a trustee of Tata Trusts. In light of Thursday’s events, Tata Trusts may consider introducing a retirement age for trustees as there is currently no such provision. Former Tata Group chiefs JRD Tata, Ratan Tata, and RK Krishna Kumar remained trustees until their passing. After Singh, the second most senior trustee is Srinivasan (73). There have been disagreements among Tata Trusts trustees regarding the commissions earned by its nominee directors. Singh earned Rs 3.2 crore as commissions from Tata Sons in FY25, while Noel Tata received Rs 1.42 crore. On the other hand, Srinivasan has abstained from receiving any commission since his appointment to the Tata Sons board in August 2016. Some trustees believe that nominee directors act as watchdogs on behalf of the Trusts and, therefore, it is inappropriate for them to accept commissions. Another group of trustees has received legal advice supporting the entitlement of commissions.