Tata Sons board to mull asking Chandrasekaran to stay on amid RBI IPO push

The holding company's board is set to consider its listing obligations after the RBI refused to relax the rules, while its committee may seek the chairman's continuation

The board of Tata Group’s holding company will meet Thursday to discuss how to handle a listing mandated by India’s central bank, including if outgoing Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran should be asked to stay on.

A last-minute addition to the meeting agenda is a discussion of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee’s recommendations, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The so-called NRC is expected to recommend asking Chandrasekaran to reconsider his decision to step down, the people added, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters.

The Reserve Bank of India’s refusal to relax listing rules for Tata Sons Pvt has turned what was meant to be a routine board meeting into a high-stakes discussion on the way forward.

Chandra, as he’s commonly known, said last month that he plans to step down when his term ends in February, forcing the group to prepare for a leadership transition. His planned exit followed months of friction with Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata over the listing issue and capital allocation across the sprawling conglomerate.

A Tata Sons representative did not immediately respond to a request for comments.