ET Exclusive: RBI blocks Tata Sons' bid to stay private, forcing listing of Rs 2.01 lakh crore giant

The RBI has rejected Tata Sons’ application for voluntary surrender of its Certificate of Registration (CoR) to be classified as an unregistered Core Investment Company (CIC). The decision paves the way for a public listing of the holding company of India’s largest business conglomerate with wide ranging interests across sectors and countries.

In a letter dated September 11, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India said that, after considering Tata Sons’ application dated March 28, 2024, and subsequent correspondence, it could not accede to the request for voluntary surrender of the CoR.

The RBI has advised Tata Sons to take necessary action to ensure full compliance with all guidelines and instructions applicable to NBFC–Upper Layer (UL) entities.


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The development means Tata Sons will continue to remain subject to the regulatory framework applicable to NBFC-UL entities.

The directive closes a key regulatory route that Tata Sons had pursued to avoid a public listing. The company had applied to surrender its core investment company, or a CIC, registration in March 2024.

The RBI has also named Tata Sons among 16 upper-layer non-banking financial companies, bringing it under enhanced regulatory scrutiny and making a listing mandatory.

Tata Sons did not comment. The RBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The central bank’s decision follows a revision of its scale-based regulatory framework in June 2026, when it set an asset threshold of Rs 1 lakh crore for classifying an entity as an upper-layer NBFC.

Tata Sons had total assets of Rs 2.01 lakh crore as of March 31, 2026, more than twice the threshold.

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The company had repaid all its debt in an effort to secure deregistration and avoid a listing. However, the RBI’s eligibility conditions stipulate that only entities that do not hold public funds, have no customer interface and possess assets of less than Rs 1,000 crore can qualify for deregistration by December 31.

Tata Sons, whose interests range from steel and automobiles to financial services and semiconductors, has featured among upper-layer NBFCs since 2022.

The central bank has also said that once an NBFC is classified in the upper layer, it will remain subject to the stricter regulatory framework for at least five years, even if it no longer meets the eligibility criteria in subsequent assessments.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had earlier said the revised norms on upper layer NBFC classification was principle-based.

“So, as per those principles, everyone knows what the list is. And so that is where the matter stands,” Malhotra said in response to a question on whether Tata Sons would remain in the upper layer.

Tata Trusts, which controls 66% of Tata Sons through the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, passed a resolution in July 2025 seeking to keep the holding company privately owned.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Tata Sons’ largest minority shareholder with an 18.37% stake, views a listing as the most practical way to unlock value.

The SP Group is seeking to sell part of its holding to repay a portion of its estimated debt of Rs 60,000 crore. Some of its Tata Sons shares have been pledged to raise funds.