Politics can bring the greatest change in India: Mittal

Bangalore: While the world cribs on the darker side of political realm, the leader of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Mittal emphasized that only through politics the biggest positive change in India can be brought. Though a son of a politician, Mittal never meandered into the sphere, however he maintains that people through politics can shape the country for good. "Through politics the biggest change in India is possible, but our leaders are yet to show the change," he said.

The Govrnment should steer their focus towards social change, instead of meddling with business issues. The agriculture sector needs to be organized and private companies can help in it, if the government allows FDI partnership," he said. The telecom czar expressed his opinions in an interview with NDTV, while speaking on the various affairs in the telecom industry, ranging from Bharti's recent futile merger attempt with MTN to the delay in the 3G spectrum auction. "The MTN deal has wasted everybody's time. It has failed seven times consecutively and we will not move for any more talks on the same in the near future," Mittal said. He observes that MTN has to sort out their internal issues for any successful deal.

The telecom czar witness the delay in 3G auction to be a bigger setback for everyone and maintains the delay to be a work of the rivals. "The entire 3G spectrum has been politicized. There is a large amount of spectrum available in India, which is lying unused in the hands of public sector and defense. Though a huge need for broadband and wireless is seen in India, the private sector cannot move forward as the amount of spectrum opened up is too less to meet the demand," the Airtel's chief said.

As the leader of the telecom industry, Mittal has always preferred technological advancement in the sector to be fast paced. For instance, for many years there were people who said GSM is a lost case, but people like Mittal braved such mindsets establishing the importance of the GSM technology in the country. There are too many levies in indian telecom sector and so the sector demands a unified license structure and a comprehensive plan. "We need to fix our telecom policies. One day I wish, when I wake up all these regulatory curbs would vanish," said Mittal.

He acknowledges that the right spirit of entrepreneurship can help the industry to grow at a fast pace. "Entrepreneurs should be like deers, alert and active," he said. According to him, the auditors too can play their part in the growth through better and transparent audits.