Mumbai, April 24, 2006: In a significant honour, VSNL's Executive Director, Mr. N Srinath has been named the 'Telecom CEO of the Year' by the leading publishing group, Telecom Asia in the 2006 edition of their awards.

Mr. Srinath received the special trophy at a glittering ceremony in Phuket, Thailand today. The 2006 Telecom Asia award has been given in recognition of Mr. Srinath's role in transforming VSNL from a domestic monopoly to a major global Telco in just four years. This makeover was achieved at a time when the Indian telecommunications market was becoming de-regulated and fiercely competitive.

In February 2002 when the Tata Group became the Strategic Partner in VSNL through the Indian Government's disinvestment programme, the company had a monopoly in the International Long Distance (ILD) market. This monopoly was terminated two years ahead of schedule in April 1, 2002, which led to VSNL reinventing its business model and entering several new businesses, both in India and overseas.

"It is an honor to receive this award which is a recognition of the great strides that VSNL has made in the last few years in re-inventing tself to compete in a global marketplace. I am pleased to accept this on behalf of all the people who have helped make this happen," Mr. N Srinath said while accepting the award.