MUMBAI: Tata Trusts will put more weight on building institutions directly rather than only funding them, chairman Noel Tata said, as the charitable body’s differences with the Tata Sons board persist.In the Trusts’ FY26 annual report, Noel said the need was “not simply to support an existing effort, but to build institutions and models that can become enduring public assets in their own right”. He did not directly refer to the governance and strategic differences between the Trusts and Tata Sons.The Trusts, which draw dividends from Tata Sons, disbursed Rs 1,556 crore in FY26. Institutional grants took Rs 1,353 crore. Individuals received Rs 203 crore. The Trusts have long worked mainly through grants and funding support.Noel cast the shift as a return to the founders’ purpose. “Our founders did not set out to build the largest group of companies,” he wrote. “They believed that enterprise carried with it a responsibility to society, and that the true measure of progress was an improvement in the quality of people’s lives.”Its earlier institutions include Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and Mumbai’s Tata Hospital.Noel named education as a priority. India needed more institutions that nurture talent at home, he said, so students are not forced to look overseas. In healthcare, the Trusts are working towards a network of 40-50 not-for-profit general hospitals.
