Tata Sons, the holding company of the $100-billion Tata Group, is preparing to inject $400 million into its digital commerce arm, Tata Digital, as per a report by Moneycontrol. The fresh capital is expected to help revive Tata Digital’s business as it struggles to gain ground in India’s fiercely competitive ecommerce sector, reports Moneycontrol.
Tata Sons relies on TCS dividend for digital push
According to the Moneycontrol report, the funding will come from Tata Sons’ dividend earnings from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). In FY25, the holding company received over Rs 32,700 crore in dividends from TCS, in which it holds a 71.77 per cent stake.
Sources told Moneycontrol that Tata Sons is not planning to sell more TCS shares to fund the digital arm. In 2024, it had offloaded TCS shares worth over Rs 9,300 crore to strengthen its balance sheet.
Tata Sons and Tata Digital didn’t answer the emails of Moneycontrol.
Tata Digital lags behind Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto
The capital infusion comes at a crucial time. Launched in 2021, Tata Digital was pitched as a “super app” that would integrate services like groceries (BigBasket), healthcare (Tata 1mg), and fashion and electronics (Tata Cliq) under Tata Neu.
Despite high expectations and nearly $2 billion in investment over the past three years, the venture has not been able to keep up with competitors like Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Retail, Zepto and Blinkit. BigBasket, for instance, has been losing ground to Zepto and Blinkit in the quick commerce segment, especially in urban areas where faster deliveries are key.
Tata Digital sees CEO changes in quick succession
Tata Digital’s performance has also been hampered by leadership instability. CEO Pratik Pal, who led the platform since its launch, stepped down in February 2024. His successor, Naveen Tahilyani, exited the company in May 2025—just 15 months into his tenure—to take on an international role at Prudential Plc.
In its first quarter earnings of financial year 2026 TCS has announced an interim dividend of ₹11 per equity share. This latest interim dividend builds on TCS’s impressive payout trend during FY25, which totaled ₹126 per share.