The Tata Group has lowered the retirement age for non-executive directors to 70 years from the current limit of 75.

The move would cut short the tenure of stalwarts such as Mr S. Ramadorai (66), the Vice-Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services, Mr Krishna Kant (67) Vice-Chairman of Tata Motors and Mr B. Muthuraman (66) Vice-Chairman of Tata Steel, among others.

A Tata Group spokesperson said this has been done at the behest of the selection committee, appointed to find a suitable candidate to take over the reins from Mr Ratan Tata.

“It [the selection committee] suggested the retirement age for non-executive directors be brought down from the present limit of 75 years to 70 years. The Tata Sons board has accepted this suggestion. For purposes of managing the transition, all non-executive Directors above the age of 70 will be eligible to continue up till the age of 75,” the spokesperson said.

This means Mr R. K. Krishna Kumar, 73, who is the Vice-Chairman of Indian Hotel Company, would continue for another two years only.

After a 20-year stint, the current chairman, Mr Ratan Tata (73), will bow out of office in December 2012 when he turns 75.

A new chairman of the Tata Group is expected to be at the helm of the $67.4 billion salt-to-software conglomerate for a longer term.

“We want to see the new chairman settling down smoothly. We think the next leadership is not for five years, but he will be there for 30-40 years,” Tata Sons Director, Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, said on Friday.

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