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MUMBAI: With Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on stage, Bharti Airtel founder-chairman and ET Business Leader of the Year Sunil Mittal, in an impassioned acceptance speech, called the telecom giant a “national asset that needs to be nurtured”.
In response to an earlier remark by banker Uday Kotak about consolidation in telecom, which saw the number of players shrink from 13 to 3, Mittal said, “In our case, there was no consolidation. There was only annihilation, company after company disappeared. ”
Referring to Airtel, he then went on to posit, “So, who does this company belong to? Its customers, its employees, its investors or the government? My simple answer is: This is a national asset. Airtel is not my company. I had the privilege of founding it, and today I stand here to take this award, and I have the privilege to be at the helm of this company. But, honourable finance minister, this is truly a national asset that needs to be nurtured. This needs to be a story that inspires thousands of more entrepreneurs in this country to create the magic that Airtel has been able to create. ”
Mittal said it was the faith reposed by all stakeholders, including the government, that helped Airtel tide over the crisis that followed the massive penalty imposed by the SC on telecom companies. “During Covid, not for a moment did this industry let the country down, traffic moved from urban to rural and from offices to homes. The industry did not let the nation’s heartbeat stop. This industry is one of the most important pillars of digital, I would request all of you to continue to nurture it. ”
In response to an earlier remark by banker Uday Kotak about consolidation in telecom, which saw the number of players shrink from 13 to 3, Mittal said, “In our case, there was no consolidation. There was only annihilation, company after company disappeared. ”
Referring to Airtel, he then went on to posit, “So, who does this company belong to? Its customers, its employees, its investors or the government? My simple answer is: This is a national asset. Airtel is not my company. I had the privilege of founding it, and today I stand here to take this award, and I have the privilege to be at the helm of this company. But, honourable finance minister, this is truly a national asset that needs to be nurtured. This needs to be a story that inspires thousands of more entrepreneurs in this country to create the magic that Airtel has been able to create. ”
Mittal said it was the faith reposed by all stakeholders, including the government, that helped Airtel tide over the crisis that followed the massive penalty imposed by the SC on telecom companies. “During Covid, not for a moment did this industry let the country down, traffic moved from urban to rural and from offices to homes. The industry did not let the nation’s heartbeat stop. This industry is one of the most important pillars of digital, I would request all of you to continue to nurture it. ”
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