Noel Tata | Photo Credit: FRANCIS MASCARENHAS

Listing of shares will destroy the character of Tata group, Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata has said. 

Reiterating his opposition to share sale, he said that Tata Group was conceived as a national service carried on through business and has conducted itself so in this manner for over a century. The structure of its ownership has permitted the group to act repeatedly in ways that a purely commercial calculus would not have supported. 

“Therefore, what is at stake today is something very fundamental: the nature and character of the Tata Group as a unique institution.  What makes the Tata operating structure unique is that it is premised on trust and its majority shareholder is a charity. That charity funds hospitals, universities, and research from the dividends it receives. It exists for public purpose and for nation building,” Noel Tata said.    

“It is the operating model of this house, and it has stood the test of time for more than a century. A listing will destroy its character and strike at the heart of this principle,” Tata added.  

He also voiced his opinions against share sale in board meeting on Thursday. He said board agreed that agreed that all available options and not listing alone should be thoroughly explored and assessed on immediate basis following Reserve Bank of India communication. 

He added that Tata Sons Board had reached a unanimous conclusion in March 2024 and had resolved that the company should remain unlisted. In July 2025, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, also unanimously passed resolutions that the company should remain unlisted and the same was duly communicated to Tata Sons.

“The position of the Tata Trusts has remained consistent and unchanged,” Noel Tata said in a statement. 

Published on September 17, 2026