The Bharti Enterprises founder says technology, energy and India’s young population could drive the country towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.
Sunil Bharti Mittal says India is on the cusp of a long economic surge and that, if he were younger, he would want to be part of the next two decades of change. Speaking in New Delhi at Goldman Sachs’ “10,000 Women” programme, the Bharti Enterprises founder said the country’s mix of technology, energy, a large young population and a vast domestic market could help propel it towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.
Mittal’s remarks echoed the broader optimism he has voiced in recent months about India’s growth trajectory. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, he argued that India’s scale and improving infrastructure would shape global trade outcomes, and said the country should think in terms of becoming a $25 trillion to $30 trillion economy if it wants to secure durable prosperity. He has also said that trade partnerships, policy stability and technology-led expansion will be central to that ambition.
The telecom executive framed his own career as a lesson in spotting shifts early and backing them before they become obvious. He recalled how, in the 1980s, he saw an opening in push-button telephones at a time when rotary phones were still common in India. That early move eventually led him into answering machines, cordless phones, fax machines and later mobile telecoms, where the scale of investment was far greater than many small entrepreneurs would have imagined.
Mittal also used the New Delhi event to point to his experience with Eutelsat OneWeb, saying he had to persuade decision-makers in the United Kingdom about the strategic value of a satellite network. His point was that big ideas are not enough on their own: founders must convince others that the business case is real and that the long-term payoff justifies the cost. In his telling, that means building confidence not only in the product but also in the plan and the future market for it.
He urged younger entrepreneurs to hold firmly to their ambitions, saying India is creating fresh openings in technology, telecoms, energy and digital services. Business leaders including Mittal have increasingly tied that optimism to wider shifts such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor development, research and development, and the rise of global capability centres, all of which they argue could deepen India’s role in the world economy. His message was that the next phase of growth may be larger than the last, and that it will reward those prepared to think ahead.
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