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Vodafone has announced a new 12-member board to take charge of its recent acquisition target, Indian mobile operator Hutchison Essar, reports the Economic Times following the company’s first meeting in India. Ravi Ruia, vice-chairman of the Essar group, will be chairman of the board, while Arun Sarin, Vodafone CEO, will be the vice-chairman. Asim Ghosh is the MD while Max India chairman Analjit Singh and CR Dua are independent directors. The new board has eight Vodafone representatives and four Essar nominees. No date has been fixed for changing the Hutch brand name to Vodafone but an announcement is expected very soon. Vodafone plans to invest USD 2 billion in India in 2007 for expanding its business. Vodafone-Essar is looking to add over 1.5 million subscribers a month during the current financial year, or 18 million new customers in a year. The company’s new monthly target translates into 65 percent growth in subscriber numbers. Simultaneously, the company announced a 50 percent reduction in the minimum monthly recharge required for a prepaid customer to INR 99 from the earlier INR 199 effective 16 June. To gain consumers and market share, Vodafone will also introduce low-cost handsets. The company is also looking at infrastructure-sharing in India and is in talks with other mobile firms.

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