MUMBAI: Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, is set to expand its presence in healthcare through a Rs 500-crore contribution to Breach Candy Hospital, a move that will bring the elite 275-bed multi-speciality SoBo hospital within its ambit of influence.
The funding will position the $165-bn Tata Group as the hospital’s largest financial backer, enabling it to add three representatives to the present 14-member board of trustees. Group chairman N Chandrasekaran will replace veteran banker Deepak Parekh as chairman of Breach Candy Hospital Trust from Oct 1, 2025. The hospital will retain its name, though the Tata brand will be incorporated in some form, with one possibility being “Breach Candy, a Tata Sons associate”. The funding is expected to support infrastructure and technological improvements at the facility that has traditionally been favoured by the rich and famous, more so by those with ‘old money’.
Breach Candy managing trustee Uday Kilachand said the “deep connection” that Ratan Tata had with the facility has “now evolved” and the Tatas have “formalised” the association. This is Tata Group’s third healthcare project in Mumbai after Tata Memorial Centre in Parel for cancer research and treatment and an animal hospital set up in Mahalaxmi last year.
Breach Candy, which introduced India’s first MRI facility in 1998, was established in 1946 by European Hospital Trust with financial support from European companies operating in pre-Independence India, such as Unilever, Forbes & Crompton Greaves.
These companies have maintained ties with the hospital through their representatives who are on the board.
Designed by British architect Claude Batley as a 25-bed nursing home, its ownership transitioned to Breach Candy Hospital Trust, registered under Indian Trusts Act and Section 8 of the Companies Act.
Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was here for his knee surgery. Actor Amitabh Bachchan’s admission in July 1982 followed injuries sustained during the filming of Coolie. The facility also witnessed the passing of Reliance Group founder Dhirubhai Ambani in July 2002, 13 days after he suffered a stroke. In Oct 2024, former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata passed away at the hospital due to age-related ailments.
“Ratan Tata maintained a deep connection with Breach Candy hospital, both as an admirer and benefactor. He relied on the hospital’s doctors and nursing staff for his personal healthcare needs. Through Tata Trusts, he provided financial assistance to the hospital for establishing facilities and acquiring medical equipment, albeit on an informal basis. However, the relationship has now evolved as Tata Sons has formalised its association with the hospital through an official understanding,” said Kilachand.
Parekh will continue as trustee even after Chandrasekaran takes over. Other notable trustees include Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra; Jamshyd Godrej of Godrej & Boyce; Rajashree Birla, mother of Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Birla; M Pallonji Group director and Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry; Pallon Mistry of Shapoorji Pallonji Group; Hindustan Unilever CEO Rohit Jawa; and former TCS CEO S Ramadorai. Ramadorai and Mehli, who serve as independent board members, will not be counted among Tata Group’s representatives.
Breach Candy CEO Anirudh Kohli outlined that the funding by Tatas would be used to enhance the hospital’s infrastructure, including state-of-the-art equipment and technology. The hospital presently comprises three buildings; plans include to construct an additional tower.
Tata Group’s investment coincides with Adani Group’s plans to construct a 1,000-bed hospital and medical college in Kandivli, marking its entry into Mumbai’s healthcare sector. It also places Tata alongside other conglomerates like Reliance, Hinduja, Birla, and Raheja in Mumbai’s healthcare industry.
