Sunil Bharti Mittal says now is the time to ‘double down’ on investing in India: 'Cut obsession with gold imports'

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel and often referred to as India’s telecom czar, on Monday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to help the country withstand global economic uncertainties, saying there is a need to invest more within India. Mittal, speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry Annual Business Summit, said that “we need to get away from this obsession of importing gold.”

He said the Prime Minister’s message was profound and that industry must play its role. “We can't escape the difficulties that the world is facing currently in economic terms. We need to play our part. We have employment of millions of people. We need to get away from this obsession of importing gold. We need to lower our energy costs. We need to move faster towards renewable energy in our industry,” he said.

Amid soaring global crude oil prices and an energy crisis fuelled by the ongoing US-Iran conflict, Mittal also advocated the use of renewable energy.

“These are difficult times. We, as a country, have been moving at a fantastic speed, growing at 6 per cent to 7 per cent year over year. Generally, things are looking very good. But there are situations that develop, which are beyond anybody's control. The current problem in the Middle East that we are all facing is creating a tremendous amount of pressure on the global economies, and India is no different in that aspect,” he said.

Mittal also stressed the need for greater domestic investment.

“My own company, Airtel, in 2024–25, spent about ₹31,000 crore in capex. If I include a subsidiary in the towers, there is another ₹7,000 crore. In 2026 (financial performance), which will be announced in the next two or three days, the investment went up. This is not the moment to shy away. This is the moment to invest, double down in our own country, because the underlying growth is there,” he said.

He was conferred with the CII President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement at the summit in recognition of his leadership, contribution to India’s economic growth and commitment to nation-building.

Avoid buying gold, work from home: PM Modi

Meanwhile, PM Modi on Sunday urged citizens to adopt a series of measures to conserve energy amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

PM Modi’s seven appeals

Here are the seven key appeals made by the Prime Minister:

• Prioritise working from home wherever possible
• Avoid buying gold for one year
• Reduce petrol and diesel consumption; use the metro or public transport
• Cut down the use of cooking oil
• Avoid foreign travel for one year
• Reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers and move towards natural farming
• Use fewer foreign products and adopt Swadeshi