Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. Tata Sons has reportedly secured the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to voluntarily give up its Core Investment Company (CIC) registration, according to insider sources. This move, if finalized, would exempt Tata Sons—the country’s largest CIC—from the RBI's Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) framework and other stringent guidelines applied to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

This decision comes just ahead of the RBI's October 2025 deadline, which would have required Tata Sons to go public as part of the SBR requirements for systemically important NBFCs. Industry observers suggest that surrendering the CIC status may have allowed Tata Sons to avoid a costly initial public offering (IPO), which, even with a 5% stake sale, was projected to bring in over ₹55,000 crore and provide greater market transparency.

Experts have something to speculate

Some market analysts speculate that Tata Sons’ successful deregistration may have been influenced by Venu Srinivasan, Vice Chairman of Tata Trusts and an RBI Central Board Director. Appointed to the RBI board in June 2022, Srinivasan’s dual roles have raised concerns among critics, who question the impartiality of RBI decisions concerning Tata Sons' regulatory obligations.

Other companies may seek similar exemptions

The RBI’s approval could set a controversial precedent, raising questions from other financial companies about regulatory fairness. While some NBFCs like Bajaj Finance and LIC Housing Finance have been working toward compliance with the SBR listing mandate, Tata Sons’ exit may prompt other companies to seek similar exemptions, potentially challenging the RBI’s goals for financial transparency and stability.

Focus on core operations

Following the surrender of its CIC registration, Tata Sons, which recently cleared all standalone debts as part of its restructuring, states that this step allows it to focus on core operations without regulatory limitations. Experts note that if Tata Sons wishes to access public capital markets in the future, it would need to re-register under the CIC framework. Meanwhile, deregistration removes Tata Sons entirely from RBI’s regulatory oversight.