Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises has had a long and illustrious career. He laid the foundation of Bharti Airtel in 1992. The first turning point for Mittal came when he introduced Indians to push-button phones that created a storm in the country. The move transformed his journey, motivating him to introduce answering machines, fax machines and cordless phones in the country. He shared crucial moments of his career with Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director (Publishing), India Today Group, in an exclusive interview.Read More: TCS share rises over 2% ahead of Q3 earnings

Current tariff 'unsustainable'; need telcos, TRAI to support hike: Sunil Mittal Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal has stressed on the need for a hike in telecom tariff as the current rates are \"unsustainable\". However, he said that the telecom market and regulator would have to be on the same page before Airtel can go ahead with a tariff hike. Mittal added that Airtel has taken a clear stance on the issue of tariffs and is of the view that a hike is necessary. World Bank cautions G20 ...

SpaceX is working to build a permanent human settlement on Mars with its Starship rocket - a reusable rocket-and-spacecraft combo that is currently under development at the company's South Texas facility

Sunil Mittal said that Airtel has clarified in the past that tariff hike is necessary, but the company cannot move ahead with it sans support from the rest of industry and regulator

The US government, fearing Huawei equipment could be used to spy on customers, has led a campaign to convince allies to bar it from their 5G networks. Huawei has repeatedly denied the claim

Sunil Bharti Mittal, who is a billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder and chair of Bharti Enterprises, talks about how just 3 telecom operators own over 97 per cent market share in the country of 1.3 billion people and the current state of the telecom sector. Watch the video for the complete interview.

Shah Rukh Khan is the founder of the non-profit Meer Foundation, which provides support to female victims of acid attacks and major burn injuries through medical treatment, legal aid, vocational training, rehabilitation and livelihood support.

Little wonder then that the incumbents Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices, besides Reliance Communications (RCom) and BSNL/MTNL, have taken on the challenge thrown by the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries' bold and disruptive Rs 2,00,000 crore telecom play, Reliance Jio. Retreating is not even an option.

In an interview, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said Airtel will compete with Jio with its strong execution over the years, customer focus and spectrum footprint.

The company will, however, begin the commercial rollout of the service from March-April and the Sunday's soft launch will be only for Reliance Industries' employees.

Reliance Jio is all set to start its 4G services by December-end at alucrative prices and is expected to come out with cheap devices that can be sold with its content, posing a threat to market leaders such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular Services among others.

Says Ram Charan, who advises some of the world's best-known and most successful CEOs.

An acquisition of a minority stake by Bharti Airtel in a broadband wireless firm sets itself squarely against an ambitious high-speed data services venture that Mukesh Ambani is priming for launch next year.

According to industry observers, it makes sense for Bharti to continue its course with the Easyday stores. But its critical financial position may make it necessary for it to induct a partner at a later stage.

Subrata Roy has started using imported perfume in response to his troubles with the authorities, but the group he has carved in his own image carries on regardless.

As the year came to an end, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin. A spate of deals was signed between the two countries.

The money, as ever, is playing its role in deciding telecom regulation. Battered by capricious rules, telecom companies can only pray.