(13 February 2008 3:25 pm)

MUMBAI: Bharti Enterprises founder, chairman and group CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal has been awarded with the GSMA Chairman's Award at Mobile World Congress (WMC) 2008 in Barcelona, Spain.

Mittal's company Bharti Airtel also bagged the best billing and customer solution award during a ceremony that saw the company as the only one from India to win.

The Chairman's Award is the association's most prestigious honour and was established in 1995. It recognises outstanding contribution to the growth and development of mobile communications around the world.

Presenting the award at the GSMA's Global Mobile awards evening, GSMA Chairman Craig Ehrlich said, "Sunil has built an incredibly successful business from scratch, one which has had a truly transformational impact on our industry, on the customers he serves and on India's economy. His brave and ambitious strategies will continue to resonate across the country, our industry and the business community globally, becoming a benchmark for emerging markets worldwide. We congratulate Sunil, on what has been an immense personal contribution to the vitality of the mobile world."

Mittal said, "This award is a tribute to India's telecom growth story, Bharti's vision and the emergence of Indian telcos on the global stage. It has been a privilege for me personally and Bharti Airtel to have been a part of this telecom revolution that has delivered affordable telecom services for all and has transformed the lives of millions across India."

Mittal started his career after graduating from Punjab University, founding Bharti in 1976, with a loan of just $1500. Today, at 50 he heads a diverse enterprise with a market capitalisation of over US $35 billion employing over 30,000 people.

"He is now extending his Midas touch to Indian retail and Indian agriculture. I just know he will do for these two sectors what he has done for mobile - and Indian consumers will be the big winners," added Ehrlich.