Tata group chief Ratan Tata today stepped down as chairman of Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) in a move that enables him to take full charge of the entire telecom business of the conglomorate, which intends to step up its investment in the sector to Rs 30,000 crore by August 2006.The VSNL board, which met in Mumbai, accepted the resignation of Ratan Tata and appointed Subodh Bhargava, an independent director on the board since 1999, as the new chairman."The resignation enables Ratan Tata to directly control and co-ordinate telecom strategies of the group in India and abroad as chief mentor and strategist," a company spokesperson said.Subodh Bhargava is the longest serving independent director on VSNL board, and his elevation to the chairman's post would impart continuity to the business of the company acquired by the Tatas in 2002 by successfully bidding for government equity.Kishore Chaukar, MD of Tata Industries, said the group was targeting to capture "leadership position" in all spheres of telecom services by the next fiscal.Tatas have decided to pump in an additional Rs 10,000 crore in the next 12-16 months with a central role for group chairman Ratan Tata to co-ordinate and strategise growth of various companies in the sector, he added."We will raise our investment to over Rs 30,000 crore ($7.5 billion) in the next 12-16 months from Rs 20,000 crore till March 31, 2005," Chaukar said.
