Sunil Mittal is an Indian Billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist and the Founder & Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. The businessman has his business expanded in telecom, insurance, real estate, education, malls, hospitality, agriculture, and food besides other ventures, but above all.
Sunil Bharti Mittal he is known for his world famous telecom company ‘Airtel’.
Airtel is a name that connects India with millions of people all over the world with millions of people in India. This he started in April 1976 at the age of 18, with a capital investment of Rs 20,000 borrowed from his father.
Mittal’s Educational Qualification
Born in a humble Punjabi family Sunil Mittal’s father was a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha (IndinNational Congress) from Ludhiana, Punjab. He did a double graduation in Arts and in Science from Punjab University and from Arya College, Ludhiana.
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Mittal’s Journey to Success
Today, the telecom giant ‘Airtel’ is amongst the most trusted telecommunication brands in the world. Bharti Airtel is one of the world’s largest and India’s largest telecom company with operations in 16 countries across Asia and Africa with a customer base of over 390 million. The company’s modest journey from a regional operator limited to the city of Delhi to the second largest mobile operator in the Asia Pacific region is nothing short of inspiring.
In 1984 Sunil Mittal started assembling push-button phones in India, which he earlier used to import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old-fashioned, bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. By the early 1990s, Bharti was making fax machines, cordless phones, and other telecom gear.
He named his first push-button phones as ‘Mitbrau’.
In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses auctioned in India. Later Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2 million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also brought down the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under the brand name ‘Indiaone’.
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Mittal’s Contribution in Social Work
Mittal has also been working towards educating India through the Bharti Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises. The Foundation has established schools in villages across India and offers free quality education with free books, uniform and mid-day meals to poor children.
“Satya Bharti School Program” the Foundation’s flagship program is running 254 schools in six States serving over 45,000 rural children, free of cost. The other educational initiatives including the Satya Bharti School, Quality Support and Learning Centre Programs, are currently reaching out to over 3,50,000 underprivileged children in 11 states.
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Awards
In 2007, the billionaire was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor. He was also elected as the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce on June 15, 2016.
