For N Chandrasekaran’s successor, few of the group’s newer businesses may present a more difficult strategic choice than Tata Digital. A portfolio of consumer assets has been assembled, substantial capital committed and years spent trying to build a digital ecosystem around the Tata brand. What the next chairman inherits, therefore, is not simply a collection of businesses but a question over what the group ultimately wants the portfolio to become.

The original ambition was sweeping. Groceries, electronics, healthcare and financial services were to be brought together under Tata Neu, creating a digital platform that could harness the group’s formidable consumer franchise. Instead, the businesses have continued to be judged largely on their individual performance, while the pace of returns has remained a concern.

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The Tata Sons board’s review of the business in May has brought that tension into sharper focus. Tata Digital reported revenue of Rs 35,990 crore and a loss of Rs 4,974 crore in FY26, according to Tata Sons’ annual report. For the incoming chairman, the immediate question will be how much more patient capital should be committed to a strategy whose eventual shape remains uncertain.

“Chandra divested the ailing telecom business and pivoted what was not sold,” an industry expert said, adding that the future of Tata Digital would depend on how much patient capital the successor was willing to continue investing in a business that is already facing scrutiny. Harish HV, management expert and founder at ECube Investments, said the new chairman would need to focus on improving operational efficiency and cutting losses at Tata Digital.

BigBasket could be among the first businesses where that judgement is tested. It entered quick commerce with an established customer base, logistics infrastructure and supply-chain relationships, but its pivot came after Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart had already changed consumer expectations around speed, assortment and convenience.

A slower shift to quick commerce, along with delayed investments in private labels, has left the business trailing peers. “BigBasket has missed some crucial stages of the game – pivoting to quick-commerce, investing and promoting private labels – leading to a sustained lag from its peers,” Pareekh Jain, founder and CEO, EIIRTrend, said.

Tata Neu presents a different challenge. The platform was built around the breadth of Tata’s consumer portfolio, but a high-frequency use case that could drive habitual engagement was never firmly established. The strength of individual brands such as Croma and Westside has also made it harder for the umbrella platform to become the default destination for consumers.

Under CEO Sajith Sivanandan, Tata Neu is now being repositioned around loyalty, payments, financial services and shared infrastructure rather than the original broad super-app proposition. Chandrasekaran reiterated this direction in his FY26 Tata Sons annual report address to shareholders.

For the successor, the decision will go beyond fixing BigBasket or refining Tata Neu. It will involve deciding which businesses still warrant capital, where the strategy needs to change and whether the different assets need to remain as closely integrated. After years of experimentation, the next chairman may have to define not just how Tata Digital can work, but what success should mean for the group.