

Tata Sons can’t escape RBI’s public funds net
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A clarification by the Reserve Bank of India has undercut Tata Sons’ attempt to distance itself from public funds, potentially retaining it in the upper layer of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), a category that entails tighter regulation and a mandatory listing requirement.The move complicates matters for the holding company of the Tata group, which has been trying to stay private, especially since RBI introduced its scale-based supervision of non-bank lenders.Late Wednesday, the central bank said it has received feedback that the mention of ‘indirect public funds’ in its draft non-banking financial company (NBFC) circular of 6 February leads to treating equity investment in an NBFC by group entities having debt as ‘indirect receipt of public funds’.Per RBI, public funds include funds raised either directly or indirectly through public deposits, inter-corporate deposits, bank finance and all funds received from external sources.Mint had reported in 2024 that Tata Sons had turned debt-free in a bid to avoid getting listed under the upper layer regulations and surrendered its registration as a core investment company (CIC). The RBI is yet to communicate its decision on this issue.A former regulator said the earlier argument was that since Tata Sons does not have public funds, it can give up its CIC registration, not be in the upper layer, and therefore can stay private, does not hold water.