Airtel’s Ajai Puri to chair COAI, Reliance Jio’s PK Mittal appointed vice-chairman

Bharti Airtel chief operating officer for India and South Asia, Ajai Puri has replaced Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar as the chairman of the COAI.

Telecom industry body COAI on Thursday announced the appointment of Bharti Airtel chief operating officer for India and South Asia, Ajai Puri, as its new chairman and Reliance Jio president P K Mittal as vice-chairman for 2020-21.

Puri has replaced Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar as the chairman of the COAI on rotation basis. Puri has been with Bharti Airtel since 2004.

“It is a privilege for me to take on this role and I would like to thank all the members of COAI for considering me worthy of this responsibility. On behalf of the industry, I would like to reiterate our commitment to support the government’s efforts as we emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Puri said.

“It’s a pleasure to take the responsibility as Vice-Chairman of COAI and continue to work with the industry to bring about the next level of reforms in order to uplift and strengthen the sector while initiating measures for the benefit of end consumers,” Mittal said.

Mittal was senior Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecommunications previously.

This is the first time Reliance Jio has got a leadership position in the industry body.

“We would like to thank our leadership for their guidance and support during this challenging time and further express confidence in their ability to steer the association and the sector towards long term health and stability. As the industry continues to play its critical role, the future has a lot in store for us with the ecosystem gearing up for 5G,” COAI Director-General Rajan S Mathews said.