How big that would have been, was of course not very clear for a young entrepreneur who was starting with a very small capital in 1976. From 1976 till about 1984-85, there was a great deal of struggle. In 1992, Bharti Enterprises was all of a sale of 25 crores, a reasonable amount but nothing significant even in 1992. But clearly, something had to be done to take a grand stand position on the national stage. 1992 offered me an opportunity to move into my main love at that time, telecommunications. I was one of the early entrepreneurs who took a pole position in 1987 by manufacturing telephone sets and I took my first call in position in mobile telephony launching India’s first mobile phone in 1995-1996 in Delhi. Airtel was born at that time.

As they say, sometimes you need one good break and its my belief that all of us will get a chance to get that one good break. In enterprise, in career, in life. We need to be there, to grab it. John, a chairman, who once had a big bet with me, told me, that “there is no doubt that you have to have exceptional luck to be extremely successful at a young age. But it is our duty to align himself or herself in the line of luck. “And that meant you had to persevere and work towards it.

Airtel upped the ante and went on to expand all over India. Today airtel is present in 5,200 towns, 270,000 villages. Every highway and every railway of this country has an airtel radio signal. Today Airtel has a position at number 3 in India in terms of market cap. Having a market cap which is not only big for India but is considered on an international stage to be a market cap worthy of some recognition.

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