About Bharti Airtel Ltd

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Bharti Airtel ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. The company offers an integrated suite of telecom solutions to its enterprise customers, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both nationally and internationally. The Company also offers Digital TV and IPTV Services. All these services are rendered under a unified brand 'airtel' either directly or through subsidiary companies. The company operates in four strategic business units, namely Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 95 Indian cities. The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-Home TV services across India. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to telcos. The company also deploys, owns and manages passive infrastructure pertaining to telecom operations under their subsidiary Bharti Infratel Ltd. Bharti Infratel Ltd own 42% of Indus Towers Ltd. Bharti Infratel Ltd and Indus Towers Ltd are the largest passive infrastructure service providers for telecom services in India. Bharti Airtel Ltd was incorporated in the year 1995 with the name Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. The company was promoted by Bharti Telecom Ltd, a company incorporated under the laws of India. The name of the company was changed from Bharti Tele-Ventures to Bharti Airtel Ltd with effect from April 24, 2006 in order to reflect their brand essence, objective and the nature of their business activities. During the year 1995-96, the company launched mobile services under the brand name 'Airtel' for the first time in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. During the year 1997-98, the company became the first private telecom operator to obtain a license to provide basic telephone services in the state of Madhya Pradesh. They incorporated Bharti BT VSAT Ltd and Bharti BT Internet Ltd during the year. During the year 1999-2000, the company acquired JT Mobiles for providing cellular services operator in Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Also, they acquired Skycell, Chennai and thus, they expanded their South Indian footprint. During the year 2001-02, they launched IndiaOne, India's first private sector national and international long distance service. They acquired licenses for eight new circles across India. In July 2001, the company acquired 100% equity interest in Bharti Mobitel Ltd (erstwhile Spice Cell Ltd), which provided mobile services in the Kolkata circle. During the year 2002-03, the company launched cellular mobile services in the circle of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana and Gujarat, fixed line services in the circles of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and International Long Distance Services. They also commenced commercial operations for their submarine cable landing station. During the year 2003-04, the company obtained the new licenses for providing the Unified Access Services, which include telecom circles of West Bengal (including Andaman & Nicobar and Sikkim), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir and UP (East). They also acquired interest in the telecom circles of Rajasthan and North Eastern States, through the acquisition of 67.5% equity stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd. During the year 2004-05, Bharti Cellular Ltd and Bharti Infotel Ltd, subsidiaries of the company, merged with the company with effect from April 1, 2004. Prior to merger of Bharti Cellular Ltd with the company, Bharti Mobile Ltd operated in circles of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab merged with Bharti Cellular Ltd. The company acquired an additional stake of 1% from Fouad M T Al Ghanim Trading & Cont Co Kuwait one of the shareholder of Bharti Hexacom Ltd. During the year, the company and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd entered into an agreement to share the company's national long distance network for a period of 15 years for a consideration of Rs 5,000 million. They entered into a regional mobile services agreement with six other leading mobile operators, namely Globe Telecom, Philippines; Maxis, Malaysia; Optus, Australia; SingTel, Singapore; Taiwan Cellular Corporations, Taiwan and Talkomsel, Indonesia and formed a regional alliance, namely Bridge Alliance. In April 2005, the company through their erstwhile 100% subsidiary Bharti Infotel Ltd, which was merged with the company acquired 100% equity stake in Bharti Broadband Ltd (formerly known as Comsat Max Ltd) by acquiring their holding company Satcom Broadband Equipment Ltd (formerly known as CMax Infocom Ltd). Also, Satcom Broadband Equipment Ltd and Bharti Broadband Ltd were amalgamated with the company with effect from October 1, 2005. During the year 2005-06, the company signed a managed capacity expansion contract with Ericsson for providing managed services and expands their GSM /GPRS network into rural India in 15 circles. Also, they entered into an agreement with Nokia to expand their managed GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE networks in eight circles. The company and IBM launched Managed Services under their joint go-to-market program. During the year, Vodafone acquired 10% economic interest in the company by way of subscription of convertible debentures in Bharti Enterprises Ltd. Also, the company entered into strategic partnership outsourcing agreements for their customer care call center operations with four international BPOs - Hinduja TMT (HTMT), IBM Daksh, Mphasis and TeleTech Services. During the year 2006-07, the company incorporated seven wholly owned subsidiaries namely Bharti Airtel (USA) Ltd, Bharti Airtel (UK) Ltd, Bharti Airtel (Hong Kong) Ltd and Bharti Airtel (Canada) Ltd, Bharti Infratel Ltd, Bharti Telemedia Ltd and Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. They received letter of offer from Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka for providing 2G and 3G mobile services in Sri Lanka. During the year, the company entered into agreement with Microsoft to offer software and services for the Small and Medium Business (SMB) market in India and to offer Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile 5.0 technology to its customer. They entered into agreement with Google to offer search services on Airtel Mobile. Also, they entered agreement with Adani Group to connect Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone and with IBM to deliver India's first 'Service Delivery Platform'. In July 2006, the company launched 'Airtel Mega' Fixed Wireless Phone (FWP) services. In September 14, 2006, they acquired 43,750 thousand shares of Bharti Hexacom Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs 875,000 thousand thereby increasing their stake from 68.5% to 68.89%. In December 2006 the company announced their foray into USA with the launch of Airtel CallHome service for Non-Resident Indians. In March 2007, they introduced BlackBerry 8800TM business phone. In April 3, 2007, Bharti Airtel (Singapore) Pvt Ltd, Singapore, was incorporated for providing Voice Interconnection, Prepaid International Calling Services, International Private Leased Circuits and VSAT Trading. During the year 2007-08, Bharti Airtel Services Ltd (erstwhile Bharti Comtel Ltd), the wholly owned subsidiary of the company, sold their entire shareholding in Bharti Telemedia Ltd to the company and Bharti Enterprise Ltd in the ratio of 40% and 60%, respectively. The company acquired 2% stake in a subsidiary of IFFCO Ltd called IFFCO Kissan Sanchar Ltd at a consideration of Rs 50,125 thousand. Also, they invested USD 1,200 thousand towards 1,200 thousand shares, of Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd, Singapore (Bridge Mobile). During the year, the company entered into a joint venture agreement with Vodafone Essar Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd and formed an independent tower company namely, Indus Towers Ltd for providing passive infrastructure services in 16 circles of India. In September 7, 2007, the company acquired 49% of the equity in Bharti Aquanet Ltd, India, at a consideration of Rs 159,549 thousand making Bharti Aquanet Ltd a 100% subsidiary of the company. In September 28, 2007, they acquired 100% of the equity in Network i2i Ltd, Mauritius, at a consideration of USD 133,400 thousand. In October 1, 2007, the company incorporated a new company namely, Bharti Airtel Holding (Singapore) Pte Ltd in Singapore as an investment holding company of the company. In January 2008, the company transferred the passive telecom infrastructure business of the company to Bharti Infratel Ltd. During the year 2008-09, the company made their foray into media and television by redefining home entertainment with Airtel digital TV. They launched their virtual calling card service 'Airtel CallHome' in UK, Singapore and Canada. The service is targeted at the huge Indian Diaspora, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Indian students in these markets. The company launched their mobile services in Sri Lanka under the Airtel brand. They expanded their footprint by launching their Mobile Services in Lakshadweep. They also launched VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Services for their enterprise customers in India in partnership with VeriSign. In February 19, 2009, the company increased their stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd by 1.11% through acquisition of 2,780,306 equity shares for an aggregate consideration of Rs 166,818 thousand. In March 4, 2009, the company subscribed 1,470,000 equity shares (49% stake) in Bharti Teleports Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs. 14,700 thousand. In October 2009, the company launched live mobile comic service on their mobile entertainment portal, Airtel Live. In October 23, 2009, they acquired an additional 55% equity stake in their subsidiary, Bharti Telemedia Ltd for a consideration of Rs 7.38 crore. Consequently, the total equity interest of the company in Bharti TelemediaLtd increased to 95%. In January 12, 2010, the company agreed to acquire 70% stake in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dhabi Group. Warid Telecom is offering mobile services across all the 64 districts of Bangladesh. As of January 2010, the company had an aggregate of over 131 million customers in South Asia, including 121.7 million mobile customers in India. In March 11, 2010, the company made their debut into Media & Entertainment with the launch of the Airtel Digital Media Business. With this, the company is able to offer Content Delivery Solutions for media and entertainment sector. In June 2010, the company acquired Zain Group's mobile operations in 15 countries across Africa for an enterprise valuation of USD 10.7 billion. With this, the company has become the first Indian brand to go truly global with a footprint that covers over 1.8 billion people. Also, the company has become a major Indian MNC with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa with a customer base of over 180 million. During the year 2010-11, the company introduced a completely new, fresh and vibrant brand logo and identity.Apart from India and Sri Lanka, the brand also started to offer its services to consumers in Bangladesh making the Company a powerhouse across South Asia. Across the seas, the Company established a strong presence in the 16 countries across the African continent. During the year, Airtel won the 'Most Preferred Cellular Service Provider Brand' award in the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2010 for the 6th year in a row. The CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards were based on an extensive consumer survey done by Nielsen, wherein the customers rated brands across different categories which delivered true value for money. During the year, the company launched 3G Services in 9 of 13 circles with 3G spectrum, empowering all 3G customers to manage their data usage and avoid 'bill shock' with proactive, personalised and timely data usage alerts coupled with introduction of easy-to-understand intuitive tariffs with personalised data usage limits. They launched various new and innovative products and services, such as airtel money, airtel call manager, airtel voice blog, airtel world SIM, Live Aarti, LearnNext, IPTV, airtel broadband TV, Unified Service Management Centre (uSMC), Global Data Services, airtel digital TV recorder, MAMO (My Airtel My Offer) and i-Care directly and through its subsidiaries, which enabled it to strengthen their leadership in an intensely competitive market. During the year, the company launched their New Vision for India and South Asia 'By 2015, airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions' inspiring and directing all stakeholders for the next stage of growth. Also, they launched their vision for Africa 'By 2015 airtel will be the most loved brand in the daily lives of African people'. In August 27, 2010, they acquired the 100% interest in Telecom Seychelles Ltd, a telecom operator of Seychelles, for an enterprise value of USD62 million. In September 2011, the company choose Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei Technologies as network partners to launch 3G Services in India. These partners will plan, design, deploy and maintain a 3G HSPA Network in Bharti Airtel 3G license circles. In January 2011, the company and State Bank of India (SBI) entered into a Joint Venture (JV) agreement to make available banking services to India's unbanked millions. The newly formed entity, will harness the power of State Bank's strengths and airtel's mobile telephony to add value to the banking and financial services sector and empower millions of financially excluded in the country to enhance their livelihood and quality of life. The Joint Venture will become the Business Correspondent of SBI and offer banking products and services at affordable cost to the citizens in unbanked and other areas. On 23 April 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group (Warid) to fully acquire Warid Telecom Uganda. On 2 May 2013, Bharti Airtel Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Limited (Bharti), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Warid Group reached an agreement, wherein Bharti decided to acquire the entire remaining 30% equity stake of Warid in Airtel Bangladesh Limited. Earlier, Bharti had acquired 70% stake in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh in January 2010. On 17 June 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had completed the allotment of 19.98 crore equity shares, representing 5% equity stake in the company, to private equity firm Qatar Foundation Endowment (QFE). On 3 May 2013, Bharti and QFE had announced a binding agreement for preferential allotment of Bharti Airtel shares to QFE. On 4 July 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it has subscribed to an additional 2% equity share capital in all the four India BWA entities of Qualcomm AP that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. Post the transaction, all the four India BWA entities became subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel. On 24 May 2012, Bharti Airtel and Qualcomm announced an agreement under which Bharti acquired 49% interest in Qualcomm AP's India entities that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. On 5 November 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Warid Group to fully acquire Warid's Brazzaville operations. On 10 December 2013, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited announced a comprehensive telecom infrastructure sharing arrangement to utilise each other's infrastructure i.e. optic fibre, submarine cable networks, towers and internet broadband services. On 13 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 115.0 MHz spectrum for a total consideration of Rs 18530 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Government of India. On 19 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had crossed the 200 million mobile subscribers mark in India. On 2 April 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had selected IBM to manage the IT infrastructure and applications for its operations in India for five years. On 9 July 2014, Bharti Airtel announced an agreement with Helios Towers Africa (HTA), the leading independent telecoms towers company in Africa, for the divestment of over 3,100 telecoms towers in four countries across Airtel's African operation to HTA. On 7 August 2014, Bharti Airtel announced the successful completion of the Offer For Sale (OFS) of 85 million shares of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel Limited for a total consideration of over Rs 2100 crore. Post the transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel came down to 74.86%. On 1 September 2014, Bharti Airtel announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Essar Telecommunications Kenya Limited, which operates under the brand name yuMobile', to acquire over 2.7 million subscribers of yuMobile. On 24 November 2014, American Tower Corporation and Bharti Airtel Limited announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of over 4,800 of Airtel's communications towers in Nigeria. Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a ten-year initial term. On 15 December 2014, Bharti Airtel inked an agreement with IHS Holding Limited for sell and lease back of over 1100 towers from IHS in Zambia and Rwanda under a 10-year renewable contract. On 26 February 2015, Bharti Airtel offloaded 55 million shares of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel through a secondary share sale in the stock market for a total consideration of Rs 1925 crore. Post the transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel was reduced to 71.9%. On 3 March 2015, Bharti Airtel announced a strategic collaboration with China Mobile to share network and product best practices and technical learnings and work together for standards and products to accelerate commercialisation of LTE and evolving 4.5G/5G technologies. The two companies also decided to work towards shaping up a joint strategy for procurement of devices that include Mifi, smart phones, data cards, LTE CPEs and USIM. On 26 March 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 111.6 MHz of prime spectrum across 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs 29130 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Government of India. On 16 May 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it had received financing commitments of up to USD 2.5 Billion from China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China at about nine-years in average maturity. On 26 August 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% equity stake in Augere Wireless Broadband India Pvt. Ltd., which holds 20 MHz of BWA Spectrum in the telecom circle of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. On 30 November 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it would invest Rs 60,000 crore over 3 years on a comprehensive network transformation program named Project Leap. On 13 January 2016, Orange, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators, signed an agreement with Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, to acquire Airtel's operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. On 28 January 2016, Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and Bharti Airtel signed a Definitive Agreement to merge their respective telecommunication subsidiaries in Bangladesh; namely, Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) and Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel). On 23 February 2016, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) and Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) signed the Share Subscription and Shareholders Agreement, wherein, KMBL agreed to acquire 9,83,82,022 equity shares aggregating to Rs 98.38 crores in cash, representing 19.90% of the paid-up capital of AMSL. On 16 March 2016, Bharti Airtel entered into a definitive agreement with Videocon Telecommunications Limited (VTL) to acquire rights to use 2 x 5 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz Band 2013 for six circles, namely, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East), UP (West) and Gujarat from VTL for an aggregate consideration of Rs 4428 crore. On 8 April 2016, Bharti Airtel and its subsidiary, Bharti Hexacom Limited entered into definitive agreements with Aircel Limited and its subsidiaries Dishnet Wireless Limited and Aircel Cellular Limited (together Aircel) to acquire rights to use 20 megahertz (MHz) 2300 Band 4G TD spectrum for eight circles namely, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa at an aggregate consideration of Rs 3500 crore. Reserve Bank of India on 11 April 2016 granted payments bank license to Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel. On 5 May 2016, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Helios Towers Africa (HTA), an independent telecoms towers company in Africa, announced an agreement for the divestment of approximately 950 telecoms towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Airtel to HTA. On 14 June 2016, Singapore Telecommunications and Bharti Airtel announced a strategic alliance to provide seamless high speed data connectivity to global enterprises under one network. On 6 October 2016, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 173.8 Mhz spectrum across 1800/2100/2300 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs 14244 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. On 20 December 2016, Bharti Airtel announced that its subsidiary Network i2i Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement with Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E (Orascom) to acquire Orascom's entire equity stake in Middle East North Africa Company Submarine Cable Systems S.A.E (MENA-SCS). MENA - SCS owns and operates a submarine cable network between India and Europe covering Middle East, with options to extend the network to Africa. On 12 January 2017, Airtel Payments Bank, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, announced the commencement of national operations with services in all 29 states of India. On 22 February 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it has, through its subsidiary Bharti Airtel Services, acquired a strategic equity stake in Seynse Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Financial Technology (FinTech) company. On 23 March 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Tikona Digital Networks (Tikona) to acquire Tikona's 4G Business including the Broadband Wireless Access ('BWA') spectrum and 350 sites, in five telecom circles. On 28 March 2017, Bharti Airtel pared its stake in its subsidiary Bharti Infratel by selling over 190 million shares Bharti Infratel representing 10.3% stake to a consortium of funds advised by KKR and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for a total consideration of over Rs 6193.90 crore. The deal was executed at Rs 325 per Bharti Infratel share. Following the closure of this transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel was reduced to 61.7%. On 10 July 2017, Bharti announced plans to invest up to Rs 2000 crore over 3 years under Project Next - its digital innovation program aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touch points. Project Next complements Airtel's massive investments towards building a future ready network under Project Leap. On 12th October 2017, Bharti Airtel and Tata Group entered into an agreement to merge Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited (TTML) with Bharti Airtel. As part of the Agreement, Bharti Airtel will absorb Tata CMB's operations across the country in nineteen circles (17 under TTSL and 2 under TTML). On 16 November 2017, Bharti Airtel announced the launch of two new Android powered 4G smartphones at the price of a feature phone in partnership with Karbonn Mobiles. The launch is part of Airtel's Mera Pehla Smartphone' initiative, which is aimed at enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway. On 12 December 2017, Bharti Airtel and Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, announced that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus will acquire up to 20% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel, for approximately $350 million. Of this, 15% stake will be sold by Bharti Airtel and the balance by another Bharti entity which holds 5% stake. Upon closing of the transaction, Bharti Airtel will own an 80% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia.

Bharti Airtel Ltd Chairman Speech

Dear Shareholders,

Aided by strong growth in most advanced and emerging markets, global economy stayed on course in its rebound mode during the year. Overall, our company experienced favorable economic environments in both India and Africa. While India recovered remarkably well from the prolonged dissonance caused by demonetization, which was undertaken in FY 17, and the teething troubles of Goods and Service Tax (GST) introduced during the current year, African economies benefited from stability in currencies and commodity prices, which resulted in healthy balance of payment situation in many countries.

Digital technologies and internet are pivotal to transformation happening around us – social, industrial, economic. Global telecommunications industry, which lies at the heart of this transformation, too is undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts; operators are transforming from pure play telecom to being digital services providers – integrating connectivity and content across multiple screens. New technologies like IOT,

AI, Block chain and big data analytics are likely to make these networks the primary facilitator of change in future. Affordable smartphones, which have become the predominant gateway to internet for customers across age groups and geographies, and rapidly proliferating 4G networks helped accelerate market transformation during the year. It was particularly evident in India where average data consumption per user went up by nearly six times to over 6GB per month in Q4 (FY18) from about 1GB in Q4 (FY17). African markets too exhibited buoyancy where average usage on our networks expanded by about 90%.

The telecom industry faced an extraordinarily turbulent year in India through unprecedented disruption. Extreme pricing pressure accelerated market exits and industry consolidation, which evolved towards a 3+1 structure (3 private telcos + 1 public sector telco). Even though the transition is turning out to be stressful entailing massive dislocation in the short run, the new industry structure will ultimately prove beneficial for the sector. We have done well to capitalize on emergent opportunities from this industry shakeup. While we completed the acquisitions of Tikona and Telenor, the proposed merger with the consumer business of Tata Teleservices Maharashtra and Tata Teleservices is under regulatory approval.

Our strategy of growing our share of high ARPU customers and improving customer stickiness by offering new products and content services helped us increase our revenue market share in a rapidly consolidating market undergoing significant revenue shrinkage. It was gratifying to see the way we held ourselves as pressure mounted on the topline of our mobility business. Aggressive network rollout continued to be an overriding priority for us as a record 110,000 mobile sites were rolled out during the year to strengthen our 4G footprint. This will help us stay ahead of competition through enhanced data capabilities and better customer service.

Acceleration in non-wireless businesses remained an unmistakable bright spot for us during the year. DTH and B2B business registered healthy double digit topline growth, thus highlighting the inherent advantages of a diversified business portfolio. The Payments Bank had a good start but faced issues in KYC authentication leading to disruption in acquiring new customers. The Bank with a new CEO and enhanced preparedness is now geared to get back on track towards the goal of driving financial inclusion in the Country.

In Africa, it turned out to be a defining year for us. Sharply improved EBITDA margins to 33.4% from 24% last year enabled us to achieve full year PAT for the first time since acquisition.

Modernized data networks - 3G networks in all 14 countries and 4G networks in 8 countries (6 of them rolled out this year) - facilitated a surge in data consumption in different African markets. Simplified voice and data bundles coupled with robust distribution and a refined cost model helped us achieve operational excellence in different markets. Data revenues expanded by over 22% during the year. Airtel Money too continued to be a key revenue pillar growing by 47% during this period.

In-country consolidation with a clear intent to become No. 1 or No. 2 operator continued to be a strategic imperative for us. While we merged operations with Millicom in Ghana to form a 50:50 joint venture, we acquired Millicom’s business in Rwanda to become a viable No. 2 in the market.

We undertook several initiatives to raise capital to support our business plans. During the year, we divested around 150 million shares in our subsidiary Bharti Infratel through secondary sale for a consideration of over H 5,895 crores. We also issued non-convertible debentures worth up to H 3,000 crores on a private placement basis. I am pleased to inform you that the board of Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. has authorized the management to initiate non-binding exploratory discussions with various intermediaries to evaluate the possibility of listing the Africa operations on an internationally recognized stock exchange.

Bharti Foundation, our group philanthropic arm extended the reach of its activities significantly during the year. Its school education programs are today cumulatively reaching out to nearly 250,000 students across 13 states in India. I am particularly delighted to inform you that during the year Bharti Foundation embarked upon its most ambitious Higher education initiative till date to set up Satya Bharti University, a world class institution to offer free education to deserving youth from economically weaker sections of society. The sanitation program, which is already serving over 90,000 beneficiaries, moved into its second phase under which the Foundation is providing financial assistance to beneficiaries to construct household toilets. Airtel Africa’s ‘Adopt-a-School’ Program is now supporting over 32,000 underprivileged children in 58 adopted schools in different countries. The Company has also scaled up its Internet for Schools initiative to benefit over 300,000 students in Kenya and Zambia. We plan to scale this up significantly over the next year.

Personally, it turned out to be an exciting year for me in my concurrent global roles - Chairman, ICC and Chairman, GSMA.

As a business entity, we have always believed in staying ahead of the curve with regard to adopting best practices in transparency and corporate governance. In line with this philosophy, we have embraced Integrated Reporting (IR) and the present report is the first Integrated Report for us.

Telecom markets across emerging economies are in transition. While life cycles of 2G and 3G are getting truncated, 4G is taking rapid strides. Market structures are getting reshaped with fewer players to facilitate these investments. With our strong balance sheet and robust spectrum portfolio across markets, we are well positioned to make the best of this transition to come out stronger.

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Bharti Airtel Ltd Company History

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Bharti Airtel ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. The company offers an integrated suite of telecom solutions to its enterprise customers, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both nationally and internationally. The Company also offers Digital TV and IPTV Services. All these services are rendered under a unified brand 'airtel' either directly or through subsidiary companies. The company operates in four strategic business units, namely Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 95 Indian cities. The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-Home TV services across India. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to telcos. The company also deploys, owns and manages passive infrastructure pertaining to telecom operations under their subsidiary Bharti Infratel Ltd. Bharti Infratel Ltd own 42% of Indus Towers Ltd. Bharti Infratel Ltd and Indus Towers Ltd are the largest passive infrastructure service providers for telecom services in India. Bharti Airtel Ltd was incorporated in the year 1995 with the name Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. The company was promoted by Bharti Telecom Ltd, a company incorporated under the laws of India. The name of the company was changed from Bharti Tele-Ventures to Bharti Airtel Ltd with effect from April 24, 2006 in order to reflect their brand essence, objective and the nature of their business activities. During the year 1995-96, the company launched mobile services under the brand name 'Airtel' for the first time in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. During the year 1997-98, the company became the first private telecom operator to obtain a license to provide basic telephone services in the state of Madhya Pradesh. They incorporated Bharti BT VSAT Ltd and Bharti BT Internet Ltd during the year. During the year 1999-2000, the company acquired JT Mobiles for providing cellular services operator in Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Also, they acquired Skycell, Chennai and thus, they expanded their South Indian footprint. During the year 2001-02, they launched IndiaOne, India's first private sector national and international long distance service. They acquired licenses for eight new circles across India. In July 2001, the company acquired 100% equity interest in Bharti Mobitel Ltd (erstwhile Spice Cell Ltd), which provided mobile services in the Kolkata circle. During the year 2002-03, the company launched cellular mobile services in the circle of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana and Gujarat, fixed line services in the circles of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and International Long Distance Services. They also commenced commercial operations for their submarine cable landing station. During the year 2003-04, the company obtained the new licenses for providing the Unified Access Services, which include telecom circles of West Bengal (including Andaman & Nicobar and Sikkim), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir and UP (East). They also acquired interest in the telecom circles of Rajasthan and North Eastern States, through the acquisition of 67.5% equity stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd. During the year 2004-05, Bharti Cellular Ltd and Bharti Infotel Ltd, subsidiaries of the company, merged with the company with effect from April 1, 2004. Prior to merger of Bharti Cellular Ltd with the company, Bharti Mobile Ltd operated in circles of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab merged with Bharti Cellular Ltd. The company acquired an additional stake of 1% from Fouad M T Al Ghanim Trading & Cont Co Kuwait one of the shareholder of Bharti Hexacom Ltd. During the year, the company and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd entered into an agreement to share the company's national long distance network for a period of 15 years for a consideration of Rs 5,000 million. They entered into a regional mobile services agreement with six other leading mobile operators, namely Globe Telecom, Philippines; Maxis, Malaysia; Optus, Australia; SingTel, Singapore; Taiwan Cellular Corporations, Taiwan and Talkomsel, Indonesia and formed a regional alliance, namely Bridge Alliance. In April 2005, the company through their erstwhile 100% subsidiary Bharti Infotel Ltd, which was merged with the company acquired 100% equity stake in Bharti Broadband Ltd (formerly known as Comsat Max Ltd) by acquiring their holding company Satcom Broadband Equipment Ltd (formerly known as CMax Infocom Ltd). Also, Satcom Broadband Equipment Ltd and Bharti Broadband Ltd were amalgamated with the company with effect from October 1, 2005. During the year 2005-06, the company signed a managed capacity expansion contract with Ericsson for providing managed services and expands their GSM /GPRS network into rural India in 15 circles. Also, they entered into an agreement with Nokia to expand their managed GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE networks in eight circles. The company and IBM launched Managed Services under their joint go-to-market program. During the year, Vodafone acquired 10% economic interest in the company by way of subscription of convertible debentures in Bharti Enterprises Ltd. Also, the company entered into strategic partnership outsourcing agreements for their customer care call center operations with four international BPOs - Hinduja TMT (HTMT), IBM Daksh, Mphasis and TeleTech Services. During the year 2006-07, the company incorporated seven wholly owned subsidiaries namely Bharti Airtel (USA) Ltd, Bharti Airtel (UK) Ltd, Bharti Airtel (Hong Kong) Ltd and Bharti Airtel (Canada) Ltd, Bharti Infratel Ltd, Bharti Telemedia Ltd and Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. They received letter of offer from Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka for providing 2G and 3G mobile services in Sri Lanka. During the year, the company entered into agreement with Microsoft to offer software and services for the Small and Medium Business (SMB) market in India and to offer Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile 5.0 technology to its customer. They entered into agreement with Google to offer search services on Airtel Mobile. Also, they entered agreement with Adani Group to connect Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone and with IBM to deliver India's first 'Service Delivery Platform'. In July 2006, the company launched 'Airtel Mega' Fixed Wireless Phone (FWP) services. In September 14, 2006, they acquired 43,750 thousand shares of Bharti Hexacom Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs 875,000 thousand thereby increasing their stake from 68.5% to 68.89%. In December 2006 the company announced their foray into USA with the launch of Airtel CallHome service for Non-Resident Indians. In March 2007, they introduced BlackBerry 8800TM business phone. In April 3, 2007, Bharti Airtel (Singapore) Pvt Ltd, Singapore, was incorporated for providing Voice Interconnection, Prepaid International Calling Services, International Private Leased Circuits and VSAT Trading. During the year 2007-08, Bharti Airtel Services Ltd (erstwhile Bharti Comtel Ltd), the wholly owned subsidiary of the company, sold their entire shareholding in Bharti Telemedia Ltd to the company and Bharti Enterprise Ltd in the ratio of 40% and 60%, respectively. The company acquired 2% stake in a subsidiary of IFFCO Ltd called IFFCO Kissan Sanchar Ltd at a consideration of Rs 50,125 thousand. Also, they invested USD 1,200 thousand towards 1,200 thousand shares, of Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd, Singapore (Bridge Mobile). During the year, the company entered into a joint venture agreement with Vodafone Essar Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd and formed an independent tower company namely, Indus Towers Ltd for providing passive infrastructure services in 16 circles of India. In September 7, 2007, the company acquired 49% of the equity in Bharti Aquanet Ltd, India, at a consideration of Rs 159,549 thousand making Bharti Aquanet Ltd a 100% subsidiary of the company. In September 28, 2007, they acquired 100% of the equity in Network i2i Ltd, Mauritius, at a consideration of USD 133,400 thousand. In October 1, 2007, the company incorporated a new company namely, Bharti Airtel Holding (Singapore) Pte Ltd in Singapore as an investment holding company of the company. In January 2008, the company transferred the passive telecom infrastructure business of the company to Bharti Infratel Ltd. During the year 2008-09, the company made their foray into media and television by redefining home entertainment with Airtel digital TV. They launched their virtual calling card service 'Airtel CallHome' in UK, Singapore and Canada. The service is targeted at the huge Indian Diaspora, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Indian students in these markets. The company launched their mobile services in Sri Lanka under the Airtel brand. They expanded their footprint by launching their Mobile Services in Lakshadweep. They also launched VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Services for their enterprise customers in India in partnership with VeriSign. In February 19, 2009, the company increased their stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd by 1.11% through acquisition of 2,780,306 equity shares for an aggregate consideration of Rs 166,818 thousand. In March 4, 2009, the company subscribed 1,470,000 equity shares (49% stake) in Bharti Teleports Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs. 14,700 thousand. In October 2009, the company launched live mobile comic service on their mobile entertainment portal, Airtel Live. In October 23, 2009, they acquired an additional 55% equity stake in their subsidiary, Bharti Telemedia Ltd for a consideration of Rs 7.38 crore. Consequently, the total equity interest of the company in Bharti TelemediaLtd increased to 95%. In January 12, 2010, the company agreed to acquire 70% stake in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dhabi Group. Warid Telecom is offering mobile services across all the 64 districts of Bangladesh. As of January 2010, the company had an aggregate of over 131 million customers in South Asia, including 121.7 million mobile customers in India. In March 11, 2010, the company made their debut into Media & Entertainment with the launch of the Airtel Digital Media Business. With this, the company is able to offer Content Delivery Solutions for media and entertainment sector. In June 2010, the company acquired Zain Group's mobile operations in 15 countries across Africa for an enterprise valuation of USD 10.7 billion. With this, the company has become the first Indian brand to go truly global with a footprint that covers over 1.8 billion people. Also, the company has become a major Indian MNC with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa with a customer base of over 180 million. During the year 2010-11, the company introduced a completely new, fresh and vibrant brand logo and identity.Apart from India and Sri Lanka, the brand also started to offer its services to consumers in Bangladesh making the Company a powerhouse across South Asia. Across the seas, the Company established a strong presence in the 16 countries across the African continent. During the year, Airtel won the 'Most Preferred Cellular Service Provider Brand' award in the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2010 for the 6th year in a row. The CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards were based on an extensive consumer survey done by Nielsen, wherein the customers rated brands across different categories which delivered true value for money. During the year, the company launched 3G Services in 9 of 13 circles with 3G spectrum, empowering all 3G customers to manage their data usage and avoid 'bill shock' with proactive, personalised and timely data usage alerts coupled with introduction of easy-to-understand intuitive tariffs with personalised data usage limits. They launched various new and innovative products and services, such as airtel money, airtel call manager, airtel voice blog, airtel world SIM, Live Aarti, LearnNext, IPTV, airtel broadband TV, Unified Service Management Centre (uSMC), Global Data Services, airtel digital TV recorder, MAMO (My Airtel My Offer) and i-Care directly and through its subsidiaries, which enabled it to strengthen their leadership in an intensely competitive market. During the year, the company launched their New Vision for India and South Asia 'By 2015, airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions' inspiring and directing all stakeholders for the next stage of growth. Also, they launched their vision for Africa 'By 2015 airtel will be the most loved brand in the daily lives of African people'. In August 27, 2010, they acquired the 100% interest in Telecom Seychelles Ltd, a telecom operator of Seychelles, for an enterprise value of USD62 million. In September 2011, the company choose Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei Technologies as network partners to launch 3G Services in India. These partners will plan, design, deploy and maintain a 3G HSPA Network in Bharti Airtel 3G license circles. In January 2011, the company and State Bank of India (SBI) entered into a Joint Venture (JV) agreement to make available banking services to India's unbanked millions. The newly formed entity, will harness the power of State Bank's strengths and airtel's mobile telephony to add value to the banking and financial services sector and empower millions of financially excluded in the country to enhance their livelihood and quality of life. The Joint Venture will become the Business Correspondent of SBI and offer banking products and services at affordable cost to the citizens in unbanked and other areas. On 23 April 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with the Warid Group (Warid) to fully acquire Warid Telecom Uganda. On 2 May 2013, Bharti Airtel Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Limited (Bharti), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Warid Group reached an agreement, wherein Bharti decided to acquire the entire remaining 30% equity stake of Warid in Airtel Bangladesh Limited. Earlier, Bharti had acquired 70% stake in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh in January 2010. On 17 June 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had completed the allotment of 19.98 crore equity shares, representing 5% equity stake in the company, to private equity firm Qatar Foundation Endowment (QFE). On 3 May 2013, Bharti and QFE had announced a binding agreement for preferential allotment of Bharti Airtel shares to QFE. On 4 July 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it has subscribed to an additional 2% equity share capital in all the four India BWA entities of Qualcomm AP that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. Post the transaction, all the four India BWA entities became subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel. On 24 May 2012, Bharti Airtel and Qualcomm announced an agreement under which Bharti acquired 49% interest in Qualcomm AP's India entities that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. On 5 November 2013, Bharti Airtel announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Warid Group to fully acquire Warid's Brazzaville operations. On 10 December 2013, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited announced a comprehensive telecom infrastructure sharing arrangement to utilise each other's infrastructure i.e. optic fibre, submarine cable networks, towers and internet broadband services. On 13 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 115.0 MHz spectrum for a total consideration of Rs 18530 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Government of India. On 19 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had crossed the 200 million mobile subscribers mark in India. On 2 April 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it had selected IBM to manage the IT infrastructure and applications for its operations in India for five years. On 9 July 2014, Bharti Airtel announced an agreement with Helios Towers Africa (HTA), the leading independent telecoms towers company in Africa, for the divestment of over 3,100 telecoms towers in four countries across Airtel's African operation to HTA. On 7 August 2014, Bharti Airtel announced the successful completion of the Offer For Sale (OFS) of 85 million shares of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel Limited for a total consideration of over Rs 2100 crore. Post the transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel came down to 74.86%. On 1 September 2014, Bharti Airtel announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Essar Telecommunications Kenya Limited, which operates under the brand name yuMobile', to acquire over 2.7 million subscribers of yuMobile. On 24 November 2014, American Tower Corporation and Bharti Airtel Limited announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of over 4,800 of Airtel's communications towers in Nigeria. Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the portfolio under a lease with a ten-year initial term. On 15 December 2014, Bharti Airtel inked an agreement with IHS Holding Limited for sell and lease back of over 1100 towers from IHS in Zambia and Rwanda under a 10-year renewable contract. On 26 February 2015, Bharti Airtel offloaded 55 million shares of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel through a secondary share sale in the stock market for a total consideration of Rs 1925 crore. Post the transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel was reduced to 71.9%. On 3 March 2015, Bharti Airtel announced a strategic collaboration with China Mobile to share network and product best practices and technical learnings and work together for standards and products to accelerate commercialisation of LTE and evolving 4.5G/5G technologies. The two companies also decided to work towards shaping up a joint strategy for procurement of devices that include Mifi, smart phones, data cards, LTE CPEs and USIM. On 26 March 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 111.6 MHz of prime spectrum across 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs 29130 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Government of India. On 16 May 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it had received financing commitments of up to USD 2.5 Billion from China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China at about nine-years in average maturity. On 26 August 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% equity stake in Augere Wireless Broadband India Pvt. Ltd., which holds 20 MHz of BWA Spectrum in the telecom circle of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. On 30 November 2015, Bharti Airtel announced that it would invest Rs 60,000 crore over 3 years on a comprehensive network transformation program named Project Leap. On 13 January 2016, Orange, one of the world's leading telecommunications operators, signed an agreement with Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, to acquire Airtel's operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. On 28 January 2016, Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and Bharti Airtel signed a Definitive Agreement to merge their respective telecommunication subsidiaries in Bangladesh; namely, Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) and Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel). On 23 February 2016, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) and Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) signed the Share Subscription and Shareholders Agreement, wherein, KMBL agreed to acquire 9,83,82,022 equity shares aggregating to Rs 98.38 crores in cash, representing 19.90% of the paid-up capital of AMSL. On 16 March 2016, Bharti Airtel entered into a definitive agreement with Videocon Telecommunications Limited (VTL) to acquire rights to use 2 x 5 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz Band 2013 for six circles, namely, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East), UP (West) and Gujarat from VTL for an aggregate consideration of Rs 4428 crore. On 8 April 2016, Bharti Airtel and its subsidiary, Bharti Hexacom Limited entered into definitive agreements with Aircel Limited and its subsidiaries Dishnet Wireless Limited and Aircel Cellular Limited (together Aircel) to acquire rights to use 20 megahertz (MHz) 2300 Band 4G TD spectrum for eight circles namely, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa at an aggregate consideration of Rs 3500 crore. Reserve Bank of India on 11 April 2016 granted payments bank license to Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel. On 5 May 2016, Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Helios Towers Africa (HTA), an independent telecoms towers company in Africa, announced an agreement for the divestment of approximately 950 telecoms towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Airtel to HTA. On 14 June 2016, Singapore Telecommunications and Bharti Airtel announced a strategic alliance to provide seamless high speed data connectivity to global enterprises under one network. On 6 October 2016, Bharti Airtel announced that it had acquired 173.8 Mhz spectrum across 1800/2100/2300 MHz bands for a total consideration of Rs 14244 crore in a spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. On 20 December 2016, Bharti Airtel announced that its subsidiary Network i2i Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement with Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E (Orascom) to acquire Orascom's entire equity stake in Middle East North Africa Company Submarine Cable Systems S.A.E (MENA-SCS). MENA - SCS owns and operates a submarine cable network between India and Europe covering Middle East, with options to extend the network to Africa. On 12 January 2017, Airtel Payments Bank, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, announced the commencement of national operations with services in all 29 states of India. On 22 February 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it has, through its subsidiary Bharti Airtel Services, acquired a strategic equity stake in Seynse Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Financial Technology (FinTech) company. On 23 March 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Tikona Digital Networks (Tikona) to acquire Tikona's 4G Business including the Broadband Wireless Access ('BWA') spectrum and 350 sites, in five telecom circles. On 28 March 2017, Bharti Airtel pared its stake in its subsidiary Bharti Infratel by selling over 190 million shares Bharti Infratel representing 10.3% stake to a consortium of funds advised by KKR and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for a total consideration of over Rs 6193.90 crore. The deal was executed at Rs 325 per Bharti Infratel share. Following the closure of this transaction, Bharti Airtel's equity holding in Bharti Infratel was reduced to 61.7%. On 10 July 2017, Bharti announced plans to invest up to Rs 2000 crore over 3 years under Project Next - its digital innovation program aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touch points. Project Next complements Airtel's massive investments towards building a future ready network under Project Leap. On 12th October 2017, Bharti Airtel and Tata Group entered into an agreement to merge Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited (TTML) with Bharti Airtel. As part of the Agreement, Bharti Airtel will absorb Tata CMB's operations across the country in nineteen circles (17 under TTSL and 2 under TTML). On 16 November 2017, Bharti Airtel announced the launch of two new Android powered 4G smartphones at the price of a feature phone in partnership with Karbonn Mobiles. The launch is part of Airtel's Mera Pehla Smartphone' initiative, which is aimed at enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway. On 12 December 2017, Bharti Airtel and Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, announced that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus will acquire up to 20% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel, for approximately $350 million. Of this, 15% stake will be sold by Bharti Airtel and the balance by another Bharti entity which holds 5% stake. Upon closing of the transaction, Bharti Airtel will own an 80% equity stake in Bharti Telemedia.

Bharti Airtel Ltd Directors Reports

Dear Members,

Your Directors have pleasure in presenting the 23rd Board Report on the Company’s business and operations, together with audited financial statements and accounts for the financial year ended March 31, 2018.

Company Overview

Bharti Airtel is one of the world’s leading providers of telecommunication services with significant presence in 16 countries, representing India, Sri Lanka and 14 countries in Africa.

The Company’s diversified service range includes mobile, voice and data solutions, using 2G, 3G and 4G technologies. We provide telecom services under wireless and fixed line technology, national and international long distance connectivity and Digital TV; and complete integrated telecom solutions to our enterprise customers. All these services are rendered under a unified brand ‘Airtel’ either directly or through subsidiary companies. Airtel Money (known as ‘Airtel Payments Bank‘ in India) extends our product portfolio to further our financial inclusion agenda and offers convenience of payments and money transfers on mobile phones over secure and stable platforms in India, and across all 14 countries in Africa.

The Company also deploys and manages passive infrastructure pertaining to telecom operations through its subsidiary, Bharti Infratel Limited, which also owns 42% of Indus Towers Limited. Together, Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers are the largest passive infrastructure service providers in India.

Financial Results

In compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (‘Listing Regulations’) the Company has prepared its standalone and consolidated financial statements as per Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for the FY 2017-18. The standalone and consolidated financial highlights of the Company’s operations are as follows:

Standalone Financial Highlights (Ind AS)

*1 USD = H 64.44 Exchange Rate for the financial year ended March 31, 2018. (1 USD = H 67.16 Exchange Rate for the financial year ended March 31, 2017).

Consolidated Financial Highlights (Ind AS)

*1 USD = H 64.44 Exchange Rate for the financial year ended March 31, 2018. (1 USD = H 67.16 Exchange Rate for the financial year ended March 31, 2017)

The financial results and the results of operations, including major developments have been further discussed in detail in the Management Discussion and Analysis section.

Secretarial Standards

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 118 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Company has complied with the applicable provisions of the Secretarial Standards issued by the Institute of Companies Secretaries of India.

Share Capital

During the year, there was no change in the Company’s issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital. On March 31, 2018, it stood at H 19,987 Mn, divided into 3,997,400,102 equity shares of H 5/- each.

General Reserve

During the year, the Company has transferred H 3,510 Mn into General Reserve from the Share Based Payment Reserve pertaining to gain / loss on exercise / lapse of vested options.

During the year, the Company has created Debenture Redemption Reserve and transferred H 7,500 Mn out of the General Reserve representing 25% of the value of unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures issued by the Company.

Dividend

Your Directors have recommended a final dividend of H 2.50 per equity share of H 5 each fully paid-up (50.00 % of face value) for FY 2017-18. The total final dividend payout will amount to H 9,993.50 Mn, excluding tax on dividend. The payment of final dividend is subject to the approval of shareholders in the Company’s ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The Register of Members and Share Transfer Books will remain closed from Saturday, August 04, 2018 to Wednesday, August 08, 2018 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of payment of final dividend for the FY 2017-18, if declared at the ensuing AGM.

Dividend Distribution Policy

As per Regulation 43A of the Listing Regulations, top 500 listed companies are required to formulate a dividend distribution policy. Accordingly, the Company has adopted the dividend distribution Policy which sets out the parameters and circumstances to be considered by the Board in determining the distribution of dividend to its shareholders and / or retaining profits earned by the Company. The Policy is enclosed as Annexure A to the Board’s Report and is also available on the Company’s website at https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws. com/bsy/iportal/images/Airtel-Dividend_Distribution_ Policy_35406A496EEC3AB50D0C777F006C6D41.pdf.

Transfer of amount to Investor Education and Protection Fund

During FY 2017-18, the Company has transferred the unpaid / unclaimed dividend amounting to H 7.42 Mn to the Investors Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Account established by the Central Government. The Company has also uploaded the details of unpaid and unclaimed amounts lying with the Company as on July 24, 2017 (date of last Annual General Meeting) on the Company’s website www.airtel.com.

Pursuant to the provisions of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules,

2016, as amended, the shares on which dividend remains unpaid / unclaimed for seven consecutive years or more shall be transferred to the Investor’s Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). Accordingly, during the year Company has transferred 49,273 equity shares to the IEPF. The details of equity shares transferred are available on the Company’s website www.airtel.com.

The shareholders whose unpaid dividend / shares are transferred to the IEPF can request the Company / Registrar and Transfer Agent as per the applicable provisions in the prescribed Form for claiming the unpaid dividend / shares from IEPF. The process for claiming the unpaid dividend / shares out of the IEPF is also available on the Company’s website at https://www.airtel. in/about-bharti/equity/shares.

Deposits

The Company has not accepted any deposits and, as such, no amount of principal or interest was outstanding, as on the balance sheet closure date.

Capital Market Ratings

As on March 31, 2018, the Company was rated by two domestic rating agencies, namely CRISIL and ICRA and three international rating agencies, namely Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P.

CRISIL and ICRA maintained their long-term ratings of the Company. As on March 31, 2018, they rate the Company at [CRISIL] AA+ / [ICRA] AA+, with a stable outlook. Short-term ratings were maintained at the highest end of the rating scale at [CRISIL] A1+ / [ICRA] A1+. Fitch, S&P and Moody’s rate the Company at BBB-/ Stable, BBB-/Stable and Baa3/Negative, respectively.

As on March 31, 2018, the Company was rated ‘Investment Grade’ by all three international rating agencies.

Employee Stock Option Plan

At present, the Company has two Employee Stock Options (ESOP) schemes, namely the Employee Stock Option Scheme 2001 and the Employee Stock Option Scheme 2005. Besides attracting talent, the schemes also helped retain talent and experience. The HR and Nomination Committee administers and monitors the Company’s ESOP schemes.

Both the ESOP schemes are currently administered through Bharti Airtel Employees Welfare Trust (ESOP Trust), whereby shares held by the Trust are transferred to the employee, upon exercise of stock options as per the terms of the Scheme.

Pursuant to the provisions of SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 (the ESOP Regulations), a disclosure with respect to ESOP Schemes of the Company as on March 31, 2018, is available on Company’s website at http:// www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/c9e25993-5b80-4ebo-9874-37614225b876.

During the year, to make the aforesaid ESOP Schemes more employee friendly, the shareholder’s in its meeting dated July 24, 2017 had approved the reduction in the period for transfer of vested / unvested options in the name of legal heir / nominees of deceased employee from 3 months to 1 month. Apart from the aforesaid change, there were no other changes in the ESOP Schemes of the Company.

Further, ESOP Schemes are in compliance with ESOP Regulations. A certificate from Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditors of the Company with respect to the implementation of the Company’s ESOP schemes, would be placed before the shareholders at the ensuing AGM. A copy of the same will also be available for inspection at the Company’s registered office.

Material changes and commitments affecting the financial position between the end of financial year and date of report after the balance sheet date

There were no material changes and commitments affecting the financial position of the Company between the end of financial year and the date of this report.

Debentures

During the financial year, your Company raised H 30,000 Mn through issuance of unsecured, listed, rated, non-convertible debentures at face value of H 1 Mn each on private placement basis as per the following details:

> 15,000 Series I debentures at a coupon rate of 8.25% per annum [Tenor: 2 years, 1 month and 7 days];

> 15,000 Series II debentures at a coupon rate of 8.35% per annum. [Tenor: 3 years, 1 month and 7 days].

The aforesaid debentures are listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited.

Inductions, Re-appointments, Retirements & Resignations

Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal and Ms. Tan Yong Choo, Directors of the Company will retire by rotation at the ensuing AGM and being eligible, have offered themselves for re-appointment. The Board recommends their re-appointment.

Sheikh Faisal Thani Al-Thani, Non-Executive Director resigned from the Company’s Board w.e.f. July 25, 2017. Mr. Rashid Fahad O J Al-Noaimi was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the Board w.e.f. July 25, 2017 and resigned from the Company’s Board w.e.f. November 22, 2017.

Mr. Craig Ehrlich, Independent Director will be completing his present term as an independent director of the Company on April 28, 2018. On the recommendation of HR and Nomination Committee, the Board in its meeting held on April 24, 2018, subject to the approval of shareholders by special resolution, has re-appointed Mr. Craig as an Independent Director of the Company for a further term of five years w.e.f. April 29, 2018 to April 28, 2023.

On the recommendation of the HR and Nomination Committee, the Board in its meeting held on April 24, 2018 subject to the amendment in the Articles of Association, had changed the nature of directorship of Mr. Gopal Vittal, Managing Director & CEO (India & South Asia) from director not liable to retire by rotation to a director liable to retire by rotation.

Brief resume, nature of expertise, details of directorships held in other companies of the Directors proposed to be re-appointed, along with their shareholding in the Company, as stipulated under Secretarial Standard 2 and Regulation 36 of the Listing Regulations, is appended as an Annexure to the Notice of the ensuing AGM.

The Board in its meeting held on July 18, 2017 has appointed Mr. Pankaj Tewari as the Company Secretary of the Company.

Declaration by Independent Directors

The Company has received declarations from all Independent Directors of the Company confirming that they continue to meet the criteria of independence, as prescribed under Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Regulation 25 of the Listing Regulations. The Independent Directors have also confirmed that they have complied with the Company’s code of conduct.

Board Diversity and Policy on Director’s Appointment and Remuneration

The Company believes that building a diverse and inclusive culture is integral to its success. A diverse Board will be able to leverage different skills, qualifications, professional experiences, perspectives and backgrounds, which is necessary for achieving sustainableandbalanceddevelopment.Thepolicyon‘Nomination, Remuneration and Board Diversity’ adopted by the Board sets out the criteria for determining qualifications, positive attributes and independence while evaluating a person for appointment / re-appointment as Director or as KMP, with no discrimination on the grounds of gender, race or ethnicity, nationality or country of origin. The detailed policy is available on the Company’s website at http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/92b49e0e-8810-497a-9c3e-9b80657a3688/Policy-on-Remuneration-Nomination-and Board-Diversity.pdf?MOD=AJPERES and is also annexed as Annexure B to this report.

Annual Board Evaluation and Familiarisation Programme for Board Members

A note on the familiarisation programme adopted by the Company for orientation and training of the Directors, and the Board evaluation process undertaken in compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Listing Regulations is provided in the Report on Corporate Governance, which forms part of this Report.

The HR and Nomination Committee has put in place a robust framework for evaluation of the Board, Board Committees and Individual Directors. Customised questionnaires were circulated, responses were analyzed and the results were subsequently discussed by the Board. Recommendations arising from the evaluation process were considered by the Board to optimize its effectiveness. A detailed update on the Board Evaluation is provided in the report on Corporate Governance which forms part of this report.

Committees of Board, Number of Meetings of the Board and Board Committees

The Board of Directors met eight (8) times during the previous financial year. As on March 31, 2018, the Board has nine committees, namely, the Audit Committee, the Risk Management Committee, the HR and Nomination Committee, the Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) Committee, the Stakeholders’ Relationship Committee, the Committee of Directors, the Airtel Corporate Council, the Special Committee of Directors (for Monetization of stake in Bharti Infratel Limited) and the Special Committee of Directors (for Restructuring of overseas holding structure).

All the recommendations made by committees of the Board including the Audit Committee were accepted by the Board. A detailed update on the Board, its composition, detailed charter including terms and reference of various Board Committees, number of Board and Committee meetings held during FY 2017-18 and attendance of the Directors at each meeting is provided in the Report on Corporate Governance, which forms part of this Report.

Subsidiary, Associate and Joint Venture Companies

As on March 31, 2018, your Company has 89 subsidiaries, 6 associates and 8 joint ventures, as set out in note 34 of the Annual Report (for Abridged Annual Report please refer note 17).

During FY 2017-18, Juggernaut Books Private Limited became associate of the Company. Bharti Airtel Ghana Holdings B.V., Airtel Ghana Limited, Airtel Mobile Commerce (Ghana) Limited,

Milicom Ghana Company Limited, Mobile Financial Services Limited became joint ventures of the Company.

During FY 2017-18, Bharti Digital Networks Private Limited (formerly known as Tikona Digital Networks Private Limited), Bharti Airtel International (Mauritius) Investments Limited, Airtel Mobile Commerce Nigeria Limited and Tigo Rwanda Limited became subsidiaries of the Company. Bangladesh Infratel Networks Limited, Bharti Infratel Lanka (Private) Limited, Airtel (Ghana) Limited, Airtel Mobile Commerce Ghana Limited, Bharti Airtel DTH Holdings B.V., Bharti Airtel Ghana Holdings B.V., Airtel DTH Services Nigeria Limited, Bharti Airtel Nigeria Holdings B.V., MSI-Celtel Nigeria Limited, Towers Support Nigeria Limited and Zap Trust Company Nigeria Limited ceased to be subsidiaries of the Company.

Pursuant to Section 129(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5 of Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a statement containing salient features of financial statements of subsidiary, associate and joint venture companies is annexed to the Abridged and full version Annual Report. The statement also provides the details of performance and financial position of each of the subsidiary, associate and joint venture companies and their contribution to the overall performance of the Company.

The audited financial statements of each of its subsidiary, associate and joint venture companies are available for inspection at the Company’s registered office and also at registered offices of the respective companies and pursuant to the provisions of Section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013, the financial statements of each of its subsidiary companies are also available on the Company’s website www.airtel.com.

Copies of the annual accounts of the subsidiary, associate and joint venture companies will also be made available to the investors of Bharti Airtel and those of the respective companies upon request.

Abridged Annual Report

In terms of the provision of Section 136(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, Rule 10 of Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 and Regulation 36 of the Listing Regulations, the Board of Directors has decided to circulate the Abridged Annual Report containing salient features of the balance sheet and statement of profit and loss and other documents to the shareholders for FY 2017-18, who have not registered their e-mail id. The Abridged Annual Report is being circulated to the members excluding Annexures to the Board’s Report viz. ‘Dividend Distribution Policy’, ‘Nomination, Remuneration and Board Diversity Policy’, ‘Secretarial Audit Report’, ‘Annual Report on Corporate Social Responsibility u/s 135 of the Companies Act, 2013’, ‘Extract of Annual Return’, ‘Particulars of Energy

Conservation, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings and Outgo’, ‘Statement of Disclosure of Remuneration under Section 197(12) of Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5(1) of Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014’, ‘Auditors’ Certificate on Corporate Governance’.

Members who desire to obtain the full version of the report may write to the Corporate Secretarial Department at the registered office address and will be provided with a copy of the same. Full version of the Annual Report will also be available on the Company’s website www.airtel.com.

Statutory Auditors

In terms of the provisions of Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP were appointed as the Company’s Statutory Auditors by the shareholders in the AGM held on July 24, 2017, for a period of five years i.e. till the conclusion of 27th AGM.

The said appointment is subject to ratification by the members at every AGM. Accordingly, the appointment of Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Chartered Accountants, as the Company’s Statutory Auditors, is placed for ratification by the members. The Company has received certificate from the Statutory Auditors to the effect that ratification of their appointment, if made, shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013. The annual ratification of auditors at the next AGM (to be held in calendar year 2019) for their remaining term, shall be done, if required by the statutory provisions.

The Board has duly examined the Statutory Auditors’ Report to the accounts, which is self-explanatory. Clarifications, wherever necessary, have been included in the Notes to Accounts section of the Annual Report.

As regards the comments under para i(a) of the Annexure 1 to the Independent Auditors’ Report regarding updation of quantitative and situation details relating to certain fixed assets, the Company is in the process of executing a comprehensive project with the involvement of technical experts, for deploying automated tools and processes which will enable near real-time tracking of fixed assets and reconciliation thereto.

Internal Auditors and Internal Assurance Partners

The Board had appointed Group Director - Internal Assurance as the Internal Auditor of the Company and Ernst & Young LLP and ANB & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai as the Internal Assurance Partners to conduct the internal audit basis a detailed internal audit plan which is reviewed each year in consultation with the Internal Audit Group and the Audit Committee.

The Board, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee has re-appointed Ernst & Young LLP and ANB & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai as the Internal Assurance Partners for FY 2018-19.

Cost Auditors

The Board, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee has approved the appointment of R. J. Goel & Co., Cost Accountants, as Cost Auditors, for FY 2018-19. The Cost Auditors will submit their report for FY 2017-18 on or before the due date.

In accordance with the provisions of Section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, since the remuneration payable to the Cost Auditors is required to be ratified by the shareholders, the Board recommends the same for approval by shareholders at the ensuing AGM.

Secretarial Auditors

The Board had appointed Chandrasekaran Associates, Company Secretaries, to conduct its Secretarial Audit for the financial year ended March 31, 2018. The Secretarial Auditors have submitted their report, confirming compliance by the Company of all the provisions of applicable corporate laws. The Report does not contain any qualification, reservation, disclaimer or adverse remark. The Secretarial Audit Report is annexed as Annexure C to this report.

The Board has re-appointed Chandrasekaran Associates, Company Secretaries, New Delhi, as Secretarial Auditors of the Company for FY 2018-19.

Sustainability Journey

We, at Bharti Airtel, strongly believe that power of communication can bring in multi-dimensional transformations, ensuring smooth functioning of life and businesses, and helping society to become sustainable and inclusive. We recognize our role in this sustainable approach in the way we conduct our business by integrating sustainability in our strategies and operations.

Our Vision defines what we aim to do, whereas our Core Values - Alive, Inclusive and Respectful - expound how we aim to embrace the responsible business practices. As the stakeholders have played a crucial role in Airtel’s sustained success over the years, Airtel’s sustainability approach has been carefully developed through systematic engagement with its stakeholders worldwide. We continuously strive to provide long-term sustainable value to all our stakeholders including investors, customers, employees, business partners and suppliers, government and regulators and communities. This is performed through systematic stakeholder dialogue to gauge their expectations, share information and sustainability priorities, practices and performance and explore avenues of partnerships to achieve the goals. The Company publishes an annual Sustainability Report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework which can be downloaded from the Company’s website www.airtel.in/sustainability.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Building upon and scaling up on various interventions initiated in areas as prescribed in our CSR policy, the Company has increased its CSR spending during the previous financial year i.e. from H 55.84 Mn in FY 2016-17 to H 245.37 Mn in FY 2017-18. Additionally, the Company has also contributed H 32.59 Mn towards various other charitable causes. The consolidated contribution of the Company towards various CSR activities during the financial year 2017-18 is H 277.96 Mn (i.e. 0.26% of net profit of last three years).

Company is committed to build its CSR capabilities on a sustainable basis and is also committed to gradually increase its CSR contribution in the coming years. The CSR spending is guided by the vision of creating long-term benefit to the society. The Company through its Board and CSR Committee is determined to beef up its efforts to meet the targeted CSR expenditure. With the strong foundation which has been established during the year along with the proposed scaling up of a number of its CSR Projects, the Company believes that it has made meaningful progress towards reaching the target in the coming financial years.

Further, during the year, Bharti Family has pledged a significant amount towards philanthropy, which will step-up scope and reach of Bharti Foundation’s initiatives to create opportunities for the underprivileged and contribute to nation building. Plan is to set up a world-class University namely Satya Bharti University, to offer free education to deserving youth from economically weaker sections of society. During the previous year, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman had also contributed H 50 Mn towards CSR in his personal capacity.

A detailed update on the CSR initiatives of the Company is provided in the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report, which forms part of the Annual Report.

The Annual Report on Corporate Social Responsibility u/s 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 is annexed as Annexure D to this Report.

Integrated Reporting

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) vide circular no: SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD/CIR/P/2017/10 dated February 06,

2017 has recommended voluntary adoption of ‘Integrated Reporting’ (IR) from 2017 - 2018 by the top 500 listed companies in India. In line with its philosophy of being a highly transparent and responsible company and considering IR as a journey, your Company adopts its first ‘Integrated Report’ in accordance with the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The Integrated Report covers capital approach of IIRC Framework as well as the value that your Company creates for its stakeholders. The board acknowledges its responsibility for the integrity of report and information contained therein.

Business Responsibility Report

As stipulated under the Listing Regulations, the Business Responsibility Report, describing the initiatives taken by the Company from environmental, social and governance perspective forms a part of the Annual Report.

Management Discussion and Analysis Report

Pursuant to Regulation 34 of the Listing Regulations the Management Discussion and Analysis Report for the year under review, is presented in a separate section, forming part of the Annual Report.

Risk Management

Risk management is embedded in Bharti Airtel’s operating framework. The Company believes that risk resilience is key to achieving higher growth. To this effect, there is a process in place to identify key risks across the Group and prioritize relevant action plans to mitigate these risks.

To have more robust process, the Company during the year, constituted separate Risk Management Committee which shall focus on the risk management including determination of Company’s risk appetite, risk tolerance and regular risk assessments (risk identification, risk quantification and risk evaluation) etc. Risk Management framework is reviewed periodically by the Board and Audit & Risk Management Committee / Risk Management Committee, which includes discussing the management submissions on risks, prioritizing key risks and approving action plans to mitigate such risks.

The Company has duly approved a Risk Management Policy. The objective of this Policy is to have a well-defined approach to risk. The policy lays down broad guidelines for timely identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks affecting the Company in the short and foreseeable future. The Policy suggests framing an appropriate response action for the key risks identified, so as to make sure that risks are adequately addressed or mitigated.

The Internal Audit function is responsible to assist the Audit Committee (erstwhile Audit & Risk Management Committee)/ Risk Management Committee on an independent basis with a complete review of the risk assessments and associated management action plans.

Operationally, risk is being managed at the top level by Management Boards in India and South Asia and in Africa (AMB and Africa Exco) and at operating level by Executive Committees of Circles in India and Operating Companies in the international operations.

Detailed discussion on Risk Management forms part of Management Discussion & Analysis under the section ‘Risks and Concerns’, which forms part of this Annual Report. At present, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, there are no risks which may threaten the existence of the Company.

Internal Financial Controls and their adequacy

The Company has established a robust framework for internal financial controls. The Company has in place adequate controls, procedures and policies, ensuring orderly and efficient conduct of its business, including adherence to the Company’s policies, safeguarding of its assets, prevention and detection of frauds and errors, accuracy and completeness of accounting records, and timely preparation of reliable financial information. During the year, such controls were assessed and no reportable material weaknesses in the design or operation were observed. Accordingly, the Board is of the opinion that the Company’s internal financial controls were adequate and effective during FY 2017-18.

Vigil Mechanism

The Code of Conduct and vigil mechanism applicable to Directors and Senior Management of the Company is available on the Company’s website at http://www.airtel.in/about-bharti/ investor-relations/corporate-governance.

A brief note on the highlights of the Whistle Blower Policy and compliance with Code of Conduct is also provided in the report on Corporate Governance, which forms part of this Annual Report.

Extract of Annual Return

In terms of provisions of Section 92, 134(3)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 12 of Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014, the extracts of Annual Return of the Company in form MGT-9 is annexed herewith as Annexure E to this report.

Significant and material orders

There are no significant and material orders passed by the regulators or courts or tribunals impacting the going concern status and Company’s operations in future.

Particulars of loans, guarantees and investments

Particulars of loans, guarantees and investments form part of note 10, 23 and 8 respectively to the financial statements provided in the full version of the Annual Report.

Related Party Transactions

A detailed note on the procedure adopted by the Company in dealing with contracts and arrangements with Related Parties is provided in the Report on Corporate Governance, which forms part of this Annual Report.

All arrangements / transactions entered into by the Company with its related parties during the year were in the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s length basis. During the year, the Company has not entered into any arrangement / transaction with related parties which could be considered material in accordance with the Company’s Policy on Related Party Transactions and accordingly, the disclosure of Related Party Transactions in Form AOC - 2 is not applicable. However, names of Related Parties and details of transactions with them have been included in note 34 of the financial statements provided in the full version of the Annual Report and note 17 of the financial statements provided in abridged version of the Annual Report under Indian Accounting Standards 24.

The Policy on the Related Party Transactions is available on the Company’s website at http://www.airtel.in/wps/ wcm/connect/36a5305d-f0ba-490c-9eff-152ef6811917/ BALPolicy-on-Related-Party Transactions.pdf?MOD=AJPERES.

Energy Conservation, Technology Absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings and Outgo

The details of energy conservation, technology absorption and foreign exchange earnings and outgo as required under Section 134(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with the Rule 8 of Companies (Accounts of Companies) Rules, 2014 is annexed as Annexure F to this report.

Particulars of Employees

Disclosures relating to remuneration of Directors u/s 197(12) read with Rule 5(1) of Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 is annexed as Annexure G to this report.

The information, as required to be provided in terms of Section 197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5(2) of Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, is annexed as Annexure H to this report.

Corporate Governance

A detailed report on Corporate Governance, pursuant to the requirements of Regulation 34 of the Listing Regulations, forms part of the Annual Report.

A certificate from Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Chartered Accountants, the Statutory Auditors of the Company, confirming compliance of conditions of Corporate Governance, as stipulated under the Listing Regulations, is annexed as Annexure I to this report.

Directors’ Responsibility Statement

Pursuant to Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Directors, to the best of their knowledge and belief, confirm that:

a) in the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards had been followed, along with proper explanation relating to material departures;

b) the Directors had selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year and of the profit and loss of the Company for that period;

c) the Directors had taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of this Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;

d) the Directors had prepared the annual accounts on a going concern basis;

e) the Directors, had laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and were operating effectively;

f) the Directors had devised proper systems to ensure compliance with the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating effectively.

Acknowledgements

The Board wishes to place on record their appreciation to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Central Government, the State Governments in India, Government of Sri Lanka and Governments in the 14 countries in Africa, Company’s bankers and business associates, for the assistance, co-operation and encouragement extended to the Company.

The Directors also extend their appreciation to the employees for their continuing support and unstinting efforts in ensuring an excellent all-round operational performance. The Directors would like to thank various partners, viz., Bharti Telecom Limited, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and other shareholders for their support and contribution. We look forward to their continued support in future.

Bharti Airtel Ltd Company Background

Bharti Airtel Ltd Company Management

Bharti Airtel Ltd Listing Information

Bharti Airtel Ltd Finished Product