Long distance operator Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) on Friday said that it had appointed FA Vandrevala, managing director of Tata Power, as an additional non-executive director on its board, effective February 26, ’03. In February ’02, the Tatas had taken over VSNL, and the group chairman Ratan Tata had taken over as chairman of VSNL.

The Tatas had reappointed VSNL’s previous CMD SK Gupta as managing director and as a Tata nominee. N Srinath, COO of Tata Teleservices, was also appointed executive director.

Kishore Chaukar and Ishaat Hussain — both senior Tata Group officials — are non-executives directors representing the Tatas. Mr Vandrevala’s apointment as non-executive director takes the total number of Tata nominees to six.

The VSNL board has a strength of 12. The Tatas had purchased 25% from the government as part of the disinvestment process. It had later bought another 20% through an open offer.