Two boards, one listing battle: Inside Tata Sons’ directors RBI board link. Read the key points, why it matters and what businesses should watch next.
Two Tata Sons directors once served on RBI board
Two of Tata Sons’ key directors, N Chandrasekaran and Venu Srinivasan, have each served on the Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board at separate points in time, a fact that has acquired significance amid the group holding company’s dispute over RBI compliance, including a possible listing.
Chandrasekaran was appointed a non-official, government-nominated director on the RBI Central Board in March 2016, before he became Tata Sons Chairman in January 2017, and served until March 2022. Srinivasan was nominated as a part-time, non-official director in June 2022 for four years and remained on the board until August 2026 — the period during which the RBI was examining Tata Sons’ application to deregister as an Upper-Layer NBFC. The two tenures did not overlap.
What the regulator decided
The RBI’s scale-based framework for NBFCs, introduced in October 2021, divided them into base, middle, upper and top layers. An upper-layer NBFC must list within three years of being identified. Tata Sons was classified as an upper-layer NBFC in September 2022, putting it on a path to listing.
Tata Sons then sought to surrender its registration to avoid that requirement. After nearly two and a half years, the RBI rejected the application on September 11 and directed the company to meet applicable regulatory requirements, effectively restoring the listing route.
Why it matters for companies
The sequence illustrates how classification under the scale-based framework can trigger mandatory listing obligations, and how exit routes such as voluntary deregistration remain subject to regulator discretion. It also highlights scrutiny of institutional overlaps between regulated entities and their advisers or directors, even where no conflict is established.
The internal split
On September 17, the Tata Sons board decided to proceed with listing steps. Venu Srinivasan, Harish Manwani, Anita M George and Saurabh Agrawal supported the move; Noel …
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