The making of Sunil Bharti Mittal

Category: Interviews | 1 Comment | Posted on March 31, 2006

Sunil Mittal shared his thoughts on new opportunities in the Indian economy and Bharti’s rise as a telecom giant, in his convocation address at the IIM Bangalore. Here are some key points collected from various sources.

Mittal came out of college in 1976. The period 1976 to 1985 was “a period of great struggle, of great pain but one of great learning”.

“Learning that I could not take form B-school because I went straight to business after university. I picked up on the streets. I learnt my lessons on the streets and at every opportunity, tried to assimilate, gather, absorb some of the practices that were required to create an enterprise.”

How Bharti emerged as the winner in the great Indian telecom war.

• 1985-86 – Mittal launches India’s first push-button telephones. Romance with telecom begins.
• 1992 – Applies for mobile licence.
• 1993-1995 saw some major litigation around this area.
• 1995 – First licence awarded, Bharti gets licence to provide mobile telephony in Delhi.
• Realises its a big monies game. Difficult times.
• 1996 – Round two. Big industrial houses who missed the bus in round one jump in this time. Bid goes as high as Rs 85,000 crore.
• Bharti expands slowly picking up the circles of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai followed by Punjab and Kolkata, among others.

Mittal’s views on the new opportunties in India.

1. Software, ITES and Telecommunications is a ‘done deal’.
2. Hospitality, Healthcare and tourism will be the next big waves.
3. 630 million people in India are of working age, projected to go up to 837 million by 2010 making India a continent of consumers in six years.
4. India had a huge lead in the manufacturing sector but suddenly, in the last 20 years, China chipped in this area and we lost.
5. “I personally believe India’s time has come”.

Mittal quotes Gandhiji: “those who try hard with lot of passion, eventually win”.

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