A first generation entrepreneur, Mittal started his first business in April 1976

[7]
at the age
of 18, with a capital investment of !,!!! "#$%&99' borrowed from his father( )is first
business was to ma*e cran*shafts for local bic+cle manufacturers(
,n 198!, he along with his brothers -a*esh, -a.an started an ,mport /nterprise named
0harti 1verseas 2rading 3orporation(
[4]
)e sold his bic+cle parts and +arn factories and
moved to Mumbai(
[8]
,n 1981, he purchased importing licences from e5porting companies in 6un.ab(
[7]
)e then
imported thousands of $u7u*i Motors8s portable electric9power generators from :apan(
2he importing of generators was suddenl+ banned b+ the then ,ndian ;overnment and
.ust two licences to manufacture generators in ,ndia were issued to two companies(
[citation
needed]
,n 198<, he started assembling push9button phones in ,ndia,
[7]
which he earlier used to
import from a 2aiwan compan+, =ingtel, replacing the old fashioned, bul*+ rotar+ phones
that were in use in the countr+ then( 0harti 2elecom >imited "02>' was incorporated and
entered into a technical tie up with $iemens A; of ;erman+ for manufacture of
electronic push button phones( 0+ the earl+ 199!s, Mittal was ma*ing fa5 machines,
cordless phones and other telecom gear( Mittal sa+s, ?,n 198&, the government imposed a
ban on the import of gensets( , was out of business overnight( /ver+thing , was doing
came to a screeching halt( , was in trouble( 2he @uestion then wasA what should , do ne5tB
2hen, opportunit+ came calling( Chile in 2aiwan, , noticed the popularit+ of the push9
button phone 99 something which ,ndia hadn8t seen then( Ce were still using those rotar+
dials with no speed dials or redials( , sensed m+ chance and embraced the telecom
business( , started mar*eting telephones, answeringDfa5 machines under the brand name
0eetel and the compan+ pic*ed up reall+ fast(?(
[1]
)e named his first push9button phones
as 8Mitbro8(
[4]
,n 199, he successfull+ bid for one of the four mobile phone networ* licences auctioned
in ,ndia(
[1]
1ne of the conditions for the Eelhi cellular license was that the bidder have
some e5perience as a telecom operator( $o, Mittal clinched a deal with the French
telecom group Givendi(
[citation needed]
)e was one of the first ,ndian entrepreneurs to identif+ the mobile telecom business as a
ma.or growth area( )is plans were finall+ approved b+ the ;overnment in 199<
[7]
and he
launched services in Eelhi in 1994, when 0harti 3ellular >imited "03>' was formed to
offer cellular services under the brand name Air2el( Cithin a few +ears 0harti became the
first telecom compan+ to cross the 9million mobile subscriber mar*( 0harti also brought
down the $2ED,$E cellular rates in ,ndia under brand name 8,ndiaone8(
[7]
,ndia1ne was
,ndiaHs first private national as well as the international long9distance service provider,
and, thus, became a ma.or factor in 0harti8s success b+ providing services cheapl+(
[citation
needed]
,n Iovember !!6, he struc* a .oint venture deal with Cal9Mart, the #$ retail giant, to
start a number of retail stores across ,ndia(
[citation needed]
,n :ul+ !!6, he attracted man+ *e+ e5ecutives from -eliance AEA;, I,$ $parta and
created 0harti 3omtel(
[citation needed]
,n Ma+ !!8, it emerged that $unil 0harti Mittal was e5ploring the possibilit+ of bu+ing
the M2I ;roup, a $outh Africa9based telecommunications compan+ with coverage in 1
countries in Africa and the Middle /ast( The Financial Times reported that 0harti was
considering offering #$%<4 billion for a 1!!J sta*e in M2I, which would be the largest
overseas ac@uisition ever b+ an ,ndian firm( )owever, both sides emphasi7e the tentative
nature of the tal*s, while The Economist maga7ine noted, ?,f an+thing, 0harti would be
marr+ing up,? as M2I has more subscribers, higher revenues and broader geographic
coverage(
[9]
)owever, the tal*s fell apart as M2I group tried to reverse the negotiations
b+ ma*ing 0harti almost a subsidiar+ of the new compan+(
[&]
,n Ma+ !!9, 0harti Airtel again confirmed that it was in tal*s with M2I and the
companies agreed to discuss the potential transaction e5clusivel+ b+ &1 :ul+ !!9( 0harti
Airtel said in a statement ?0harti Airtel >td( is pleased to announce that it has renewed its
effort for a significant partnership with M2I ;roup?(
[citation needed]
2al*s eventuall+ ended without agreement, some sources stating that this was due to
opposition from the $outh African government(
[1!]