Norwegian telecom major Telenor today said Stein-Erik Vellan, the managing director of Uninor who was instrumental in launching the group's India operations, has stepped down.
Uninor is a joint venture between Telenor and Indian group Unitech, in which the Norwegian firm has a majority stake.
"The board of Uninor has accepted the resignation of Stein-Erik Vellan as the managing director," Telenor said in a statement.
Vellan was the managing director of Uninor during the initial rollout of the operations in India and would now move on to a different position within the Telenor Group, it added.
Telenor has nominated Sigve Brekke as the managing director of Uninor. He would also continue in his current position as head of Telenor Asia region.
"Stein-Erik Vellan and his team in Uninor have done a good job in launching the services of Uninor in record time. I would like to thank Stein-Erik for his efforts in building up a vital new player in the competitive mobile market in India," Group's President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said.
Uninor, which became operational in December 2009, offers mobile services in 13 Indian telecom services. Telenor has a 67.25 per cent stake in Uninor while the rest is held by Unitech.
According to Telenor's website, with mobile penetration of 35 per cent, India has huge subscriber potential and plays an important role in improving network stability and coverage.