NEW DELHI: Kuldip Singh, director, technical, of telecom PSU MTNL, has been appointed the new chairman and managing director with immediate

effect.

Singh would continue to hold the portfolio of director (technical).

Singh has been given the charge for a period of three months. His appointment came after his predecessor R S P Sinha’s tenure ended on January 9, this year.

When contacted, he confirmed receipt of an official communication in this regard.

MTNL offers the entire gamut of telecom services — basic, mobile, internet and long distance. It faces many big challenges in the midst of fierce competition from private telecom operators.

Set up by the government of India in 1986, MTNL is the leading telecom service provider in the metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai. The government holds 56.25 per cent stake in it.

With its operations in Delhi, Mumbai, Nepal and Mauritius, MTNL is the first service provider to launch 3G services in the country.

MTNL has continued to expand the footprints and make new offerings to maintain its leadership in telecom service space. The PSU has a customer base of over 8.2 million, including about 4.4 million GSM mobile connections.

The company has been facing severe pressure on its financials and had announced near 80 per cent decline in net profit for the second quarter ended September, 2009 and stood at Rs 20.58 crore compared to Rs 91.49 crore in the same period in 2008.

Mumbai, Dec 12 (ANI): A strong earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted several parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, on Saturday evening.

According to reports, the tremors were felt for few seconds around 5.21 p.m.The epicentre of the earthquakewas reportedly near the Koyna Dam located between Chipnur and Karad.

The Konkan region consisting, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurga, Raigadh and Pune also experienced the minor tremor.

No damage to life has been reported till the reports came in. (ANI)

MUMBAI: The Indian Air Force gave clearance to detained US military chartered plane to fly out from Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. Now the DGCA will
decide when it will take off.

Earlier, the US aircraft with 205 American marine commandos on board was made to land at Mumbai airport for allegedly violating the Indian airspace.

The chartered plane was on its way from Fujiriah in UAE to Bangkok, an airport official said. The aircraft was using a civilian call sign, officials said.

“A US aircraft with 205 US Marines on board, on its way from Fujiriah to Bangkok, was forced to land in Mumbai while overflying Indian airspace as there was some confusion about its call sign,” a Mumbai airport spokesperson said.

Soon US authorities got in touch with relevant officials to resolve the issue.

“We are aware of the situation, and are in touch with relevant officials to resolve this issue, which is a routine matter,” a US embassy spokesperson said.