Venu Srinivasan Stops Fresh Appointments at Sir Ratan Tata Trust

The Tata Trusts meeting held on November 11 was marked by a degree of drama. It has been discovered that Venu Srinivasan, the vice-chairman and trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), objected to the way a resolution was presented that would have appointed Bhaskar Bhat and Neville Tata as trustees. The agenda did not mention the issue. At the board meeting of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), which came before the SRTT meeting, Neville and Bhat were named trustees.

Why Srinivasan Halted the Appointments?

Srinivasan reportedly said that the agenda's "Any other items for discussion" section should not have included such a topic. According to reports, he stated that the resolution ought to have been on the agenda in order to have a "proper discussion".

SDTT was discussed first, then SRTT, at the recent trusts meeting. Since his appointment needed to be verified in accordance with the ordinance that the Maharashtra government passed on September 1, Srinivasan, who participated remotely, was not present at the SDTT meeting. The ordinance restricted the number of lifelong trustees and set a three-year term restriction for trustees. The two largest Tata trusts, SRTT and SDTT, together own little more than 51% of Tata Sons.

Discussions in the SDIT Meeting

It has been revealed that during the SDTT meeting, lawyer and trustee Darius Khambatta and former Citibanker Pramit Jhaveri suggested that Neville Tata be appointed as a trustee, while Noel Tata suggested Bhaskar Bhat. According to media accounts, Vijay Singh, a fellow trustee, was surprised by the decision but complied. The meeting also decided to dissolve the trust's executive committee, giving Chairman Noel Tata ultimate authority.

Mehli Mistry (until his time ended), Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, and Noel Tata have previously been on the committee. Darius Khambatta and Jehangir H. C. Jehangir are reported to have suggested Neville Tata's appointment at the ensuing SRTT meeting, while Noel Tata once more suggested Bhaskar Bhat's name. According to the source, Srinivasan then raised concerns about how the resolution was introduced for discussion under "Any other item".