Synopsis

Natarajan Chandrasekaran of Tata Sons affirmed the conglomerate's commitment to producing semiconductor chips amid ongoing boardroom disputes. Tata is investing heavily in India's first chip-making unit, a key to future growth. Noel Tata has expressed disagreements over capital decisions and shareholder returns, which has escalated tensions. Despite operational challenges at Air India and within Tata Technologies, the group continues to maintain double-digit growth.

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Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said on Tuesday that the conglomerate will continue making what the world and India require, including semiconductor chips, even if these take longer to build while the group continues to face a boardroom tussle.

“Direction is certain, need is certain, ability to execute is certain,” Chandrasekaran said. at the 2026 Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.

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Chandrasekaran focussed on the fact that India has the talent, market and the ability to build, pressing that semiconductor chips would be fundamentally required in a world with growing space for advanced manufacturing.

At nearly 160 years old and with $185 billion in revenue last fiscal, Tata is betting $120 billion on its next growth chapter, anchored by India’s first chip-making unit, a landmark project in the country’s ambition to become a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse.

Noel Tata, chairman at Tata Trusts that owns about 66% of Tata Sons, has recently publicly had major differences with Chandrasekaran over the group's decisions pertaining to capital allocation and faster return to shareholders. The feud took a turn when Chandrasekaran was re-appointed as chairman of the conglomerate, a move that Noel Tata has not endorsed.

Separately, Tata Electronics has been building the country's first large-scale chip production plant and has faced major operational issues, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Chandra has acknowledged that the company has been going through a rough time, while batting multiple operational matters and a boardroom tussle at the helm. The conglomerate-controlled flag carrier Air India faced a major crash last year, a cyberattack and major disruptions around its supply-chain. Despite these snags, the group has seen its margins holding and growth in double-digits.

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Chandra had announced in August that he would step down when his term ends in February next year, citing a lack of unanimous support from the board. The fault lines had surfaced months ago, when Noel Tata objected in February, prompting the board to postpone a decision on Chandra’s third term. The Tata Trusts accepted his decision and began the search for a successor.

But the succession question took a turn in September, when the Tata Sons board reappointed Chandra for another five years. Noel, one of the Trusts’ two nominees on the board, voted against the move. The Trusts subsequently challenged the reappointment as illegal under Tata Sons’ articles of association, citing legal advice. Tata Sons has rejected that interpretation, setting the stage for a potentially consequential legal battle over control of the conglomerate.

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