Business: Special Series; Sunil Mittal, 42

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Nov 8, 1999

SPECIAL SERIES

Sunil Mittal, 42
Chairman, Bharti Enterprises

The Networker
Dreams. When he's 50, Sunil Mittal says he would like to "take things easy, fly aeroplanes and bungee jump". Meanwhile, he simply wants to be the biggest telecom player in India. He has his moves; earlier circumspect bidding for telecom circles ensured that he now owes the government a relatively modest Rs 48 lakh, compared to the next lowest debtor at Rs 52 crore.

This relative financial health and focus -- Mittal's primary fix is telecom, unlike most Indian players -- will help. Airtel, his mobile service for Delhi could break even this year, basic telephony is on-stream, and so is Mantra On-Line, a Net service. The new telecom policy also allows multiple operators in the circles, and Mittal plans to cut in on the action. " I have to work day and night for the next eight years," says Mittal. Then, he will go jump off a cliff.

-Rohit Saran

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