Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025: Want to make Airtel a digital leader with a billion users, says Sunil Mittal

Sunil Mittal at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit LIVE: Bharti Airtel founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Saturday spoke with former G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, where he said that he wanted a billion users for Airtel globally in the next few years.

Sunil Mittal started his first business in April 1976 when he was 18 with ₹20,000 loan from his father. Currently, his net worth stands at $34.2 billion (about ₹3 lakh crore).

Sunil Mittal's one billion goal

Speaking at the HTLS 2025, Sunil Mittal told Amitabh Kant about his plans for Airtel.

“For me, the next 10 years will be how to make Airtel one of the foremost global digital services provider. We have made a move in the UK, winning 25% of British Telecom, we have sight on more European assets; we are in Africa already. We could like to see Airtel be the first company in the world to have a billion customers, up from 600 million today in the next eight to 10 years.”

India has enough ‘animal spirit’ for 2047 goal

Sunil Mittal said there was enough activity in India for it to become a developed economy by 2047. “Like the RBI governor said yesterday, India is truly in the Goldilocks zone—and that needs to be leveraged to achieve the goal of being a developed economy by 2047,” Mittal said, adding, “Whether we become a $30-trillion economy, that remains to be seen, but anywhere near $22-25 trillion.”

He urged all trade deals to be closed so that India can truly harness its potential.

“India has enough animal spirits for the 2047 goal,” he said.

Sunil Mittal on future of Airtel

Talking about the future of Airtel, Sunil Mittal reflected on whether it wants to stay on as a telecom operator or delve into the AI market. “We are a company that understands the need of customers and does a good job,” he said.

Mittal noted that having a sovereign cloud has become a necessity given the geopolitical issues, adding that it is not wise to depend on companies like Google and Microsoft.

The single factor why Airtel survived despite competition

When asked about competition, Sunil Mittal said that Airtel had to deal with one player specifically, in a veiled reference to Reliance Jio, which was launched in 2016 and disrupted the market.

“We managed other players. One single factor due to which we could survive was our people, the talent we had,” he said.

“So, while the launch disappeared 6-7 companies and triggered consolidation, Airtel has stood its ground and grown,” Mittal added.

Bharti Airtel Chairman on Africa business

Talking about Airtel's Africa business, Sunil Mittal said, “The first 10 years were very hard…It was like a shock. We went in with the same playbook — low cost, massive expansion, but it took 6-7 years to crack the market.”

Sunil Mittal reveals the ad that changed it all

“We were not importing telephones, we were manufacturing telephones. In the late 80s we were doing well, but I wanted to do something more.”

He went on to reveal that it was an advertisement from the government in 1992, which he read during a vacation in Goa, that started everything for Airtel as a company. Before this, the company was selling Beetel fixed-line phones with operations in Mumbai. But then, Airtel clinched on the licence to operate as a telecom operator.

Who are the speakers today?

The speakers at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025 on 6 December include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, CJI Justice Surya Kant, EAM S. Jaishankar, Bharti Airter Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, Indian women's cricket team coach Amol Muzumdar, cricketer Deepti Sharma, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Prof. James K. Galbraith, Michael Kugelman, Kate Sullivan de Estrada, Google DeepMind executive Pushmeet Kohli, and actors Aamir Khan Hugh Grant.

Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025: What is the theme this year?

The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025 is underway, with the biggest event of Hindustan Times Group. The theme; “Transforming Tomorrow”, captures the spirit of innovation, resilience, and reinvention defining our era.