iWorld
Akhil Gupta retires as Bharti Enterprises vice chairman after three decades
The man who outsourced Airtel’s network and built Indus Towers leaves behind a telecom industry transformed
NEW DELHI: He was not the most visible face of Bharti. He was, by most accounts, the most consequential one. Akhil Gupta, known within the group simply as AKG, has retired as vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises with effect from March 31st, 2026, closing a chapter that stretched across more than three decades and reshaped Indian telecoms in ways still felt today.
Gupta was there at the beginning, part of the core leadership team that steered Bharti Airtel from a scrappy domestic operator into one of the world’s largest telecom and digital services companies. But it is two decisions in particular that cement his legacy. The first was persuading the industry that a telecom company need not own its own network. His outsourcing partnerships with IBM and Ericsson, considered eccentric at the time, stripped out capital costs and sharpened Airtel’s competitive edge. The model was subsequently copied across the global industry. The second was the creation of Indus Towers, now one of the largest tower companies in the world.
Both initiatives were studied as case material at Harvard Business School, where Gupta himself had studied. A chartered accountant by training and a dealmaker by instinct, he accumulated industry accolades across his career without ever particularly courting the limelight.
Bharti Enterprises, announcing the retirement on LinkedIn, credited Gupta with building the foundation of the group’s success and driving innovation, partnerships and long-term value creation.
The tributes are deserved. Gupta did not just help build Airtel. In many respects, he helped invent the playbook that modern telecoms runs on.
iWorld
Guru Randhawa clocks 19.8 billion YouTube views, tops global charts
Punjabi star outpaces global acts as streaming surge fuels new phase
MUMBAI: Guru Randhawa is striking a powerful chord on the global music stage, clocking 19.8 billion views on YouTube and emerging as one of the most-watched Punjabi artists worldwide.
The milestone puts him ahead of several global heavyweights, including Dua Lipa and Drake, underlining the growing international pull of Punjabi music. Alongside the viewership numbers, Randhawa has amassed 108.9 million hours of watch time, reflecting sustained engagement from audiences across markets.
His strong run comes on the back of a standout 2025, where he crossed 500 million audio streams, driven largely by his album Without Prejudice. The project marked a turning point, blending his signature style with a more global, polished sound.
That momentum carried forward with releases like Azul and Shkini, before rolling into 2026 with Dopamine, signalling a consistent and fast-paced release strategy.
On Spotify, Randhawa has also secured multiple top 10 entries on the India top 200 chart, reinforcing his cross-platform appeal. His independent streak appears to be paying off, with each release building on the last in both scale and reach.
As the lines between regional and global music continue to blur, Randhawa’s rise offers a glimpse into the future of Indian pop on the world stage. With numbers climbing and momentum firmly on his side, the next chapter could well be his biggest yet.
