塔塔Dholera晶圆厂确认以90nm起步、量产推迟至2028年中，大股东就资本回报与管理层出现分歧

Tata Group's semiconductor fab in Gujarat, held up as the foundation of India's chipmaking ambitions, now faces scrutiny from within, as the group's controlling shareholder presses for quicker returns on capital-intensive bets.

Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran defended the strategy at Bloomberg 's New Economy Forum in New Delhi on October 13, saying the chip push should not be judged on whether it meets the numbers in two to three years. "Direction is certain, need is certain, ability to execute is certain," he said, according to Bloomberg .
A national project, scaled back
The Dholera fab, which Tata Electronics is building with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), is set to become India's first large-scale wafer plant. In his message to shareholders in the Tata Sons FY26 annual report, Chandrasekaran called chips "the new steel," noting that "every phone, car, aircraft, hospital, power grid and AI system runs on chips," NDTV Profit reported.
In July, India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said commercial production is now expected in mid-2028 rather than at the end of 2026, and the fab will begin at the 90nm node instead of the 28nm that Chandrasekaran had cited in the annual report for the year ended March 2025. According to Bloomberg , a Tata Electronics spokesperson said the plan "was always to start with 55nm and 90nm, followed by 28nm."
The cost of patience
Tata Electronics nearly doubled its revenue to INR1.31 trillion (approx. US$13.74 billion) in fiscal 2026. Still, its net loss widened to INR16.11 billion from INR700 million a year earlier, and Tata Sons' cumulative investment in the unit has reached INR99.61 billion.
Deven Choksey, managing director of DRChoksey Finserv, told CNBC that Tata Sons needs over INR290 billion annually to support loss-making businesses and another INR900 billion for the semiconductor plant, while earning a little over INR300 billion in dividends. "The deadlock could slow down capital-intensive bets in Air India, semiconductors and batteries," Jaydeep Mukherjee, professor of economics at Great Lakes, Chennai, CNBC reported.
Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, which owns about 66% of Tata Sons, has disagreed with Chandrasekaran in board meetings over capital allocation and projects that can show returns on a swifter timeframe, Bloomberg reported. Chandrasekaran acknowledged the need for caution: "We can't be reckless."
Months of boardroom differences
The differences date back to February, when a proposal to extend Chandrasekaran's term came before the Tata Sons board, and the decision was deferred because one board member did not support it. In August, Chandrasekaran said he would not seek another term when his current one ends in February 2027; Tata Trusts accepted the decision and advised Tata Sons to begin selecting a successor.
On September 17, the Tata Sons board reversed course and reappointed him for five years by a majority vote. Tata Trusts said four directors voted in favor and Noel Tata voted against, resolving "a legal nullity" because the company's articles of association require a majority of the Trusts' nominee directors to back it. Tata Sons disputes that position.
At the same meeting, the board agreed to comply with a Reserve Bank of India directive that effectively requires Tata Sons to list, the BBC reported. Tata Trusts said it would "explore all avenues and possibilities to move out of the regulatory framework that requires mandatory listing," CNBC reported. Choksey said a listing might be one way to close Tata Sons' funding gap.