Group Overview
Founded in 1976, by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti has grown from being a manufacturer of bicycle parts to one of the largest and most respected business groups in India. With its entrepreneurial spirit and passion to undertake business projects that are transformational in nature, Bharti has created world-class businesses in telecom, insurance, retail, and foods.
Bharti started its telecom services business by launching mobile services in Delhi (India) in 1995. Since then there has been no looking back and Bharti Airtel, the group’s flagship company, has emerged as one of top telecom companies in the world and is amongst the top five wireless operators in the world.
Through its global telecom operations Bharti group operates under the ‘Airtel’ brand in 20 countries across Asia and Africa– India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. In addition, the group also has mobile operations in Jersey, Guernsey.
Over the past few years, the group has diversified into emerging business areas in the fast expanding Indian economy. With a vision to build India’s finest conglomerate by 2020 the group has forayed into the retail sector by opening retail stores in multiple formats – small and medium - as well establishing large scale cash & carry stores to serve institutional customers and other retailers. The group offers a complete portfolio of – life insurance, general insurance and asset management – to customers across India. Bharti also serves customers through its fresh and processed foods business. The group has growing interests in other areas such as telecom software, real estate, training and capacity building, and distribution of telecom/IT products.
What sets Bharti apart from the rest is its ability to forge strong partnerships. Over the years some of biggest names in international business have partnered Bharti. Currently, Singtel, IBM, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent are key partners in telecom. Walmart is Bharti’s partner for its cash & carry venture. Axa Group is the partner for the insurance business and Del Monte Pacific for the processed foods division.
Bharti strongly believes in giving back to the society and through its philanthropic arm the Bharti Foundation it is reaching out to over 38,000 underprivileged children and youth in India.
About Us
Changing Lives
How our Mobile towers are reducing carbon footprint
Mobile towers are the lifeline of any cellular network. A smooth network depends on uninterrupted and adequate supply of power. In many parts of India, power supply is erratic. Most towers have a diesel generator backup. The telecom industry, with over 2,50,000 towers, is the largest consumer of diesel today.
Bharti Infratel, one of India’s top tower companies, has taken a pioneering step towards replacing diesel generators with solar energy, reducing Co2 emissions by 2.5 tonnes per tower every year.