Tata, Mistry call on India's Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma

New Delhi, Dec 22 (PTI) A month after announcing his successor, Tata Group chief Ratan Tata today met India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma along with Cyrus P Mistry in what has been described a meeting of "introduction". While Tata and Mistry declined to speak to the waiting media on the agenda of their meeting with Sharma, official sources said: "It was just a meeting to introduce his (Tata's) successor". On November 23, Tata Sons had announced Mistry, who was then the Managing Director at Shapoorji Pallonji Group, as Tata's successor to head the over USD 80 billion Indian business conglomerate Tata Group. The 43-year-old Mistry, a son of Pallonji Mistry, Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group that holds 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons, will take over the reins when Tata retires in December, 2012. After being at the helm of affairs for two decades, Ratan Tata would hang his boots in December, 2012 when he turns 75, the retirement age fixed by the group that has presence in businesses ranging from salt to software.PTI Caption for pic: Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma (centre) with Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata (right) and Cyrus Mistry who will succeed him at a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI Photo