Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, will exit the board of Airtel Payments Bank as non-executive chairperson when his tenure ends on September 30, 2026.
The bank said Shabnam Sinha will assume the role of chairperson for a three-year term starting October 1, 2026, following her appointment by the board and approval by India’s banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Mittal was appointed non-executive chairperson of Airtel Payments Bank in April 2016. Airtel Payments Bank commenced operations in November 2016 and was among the 11 entities to receive in-principle approval from the RBI to set up a payments bank.
“It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of Airtel Payments Bank and witness its journey from an accessibility-focused effort into a trusted institution serving millions across urban and rural India. We built one of the country’s largest banking networks, brought underserved communities into formal banking, and delivered a safe, digital-first experience,” Mittal said in a statement on Monday.
Currently, Sinha is an independent director on Airtel Payments Bank’s board. She chairs the special committee of the board for monitoring frauds and is a member of the risk management and IT committees.
Her previous experience includes the World Bank, where she advised governments and institutions across Asia, Africa and Europe on governance, risk management and operational effectiveness, the bank said.
The payments bank serves over 121 million monthly active users and nearly 30 million bank account customers through the Airtel Thanks app.
It has a network of over 500,000 banking points reaching three out of four villages in the country, it said. One in five of its rural banking points is operated by women banking correspondents.
Airtel Payments Bank generated Rs 3,207 crore in revenue in financial year 2025-26 (FY26) while recording a net profit of Rs 109 crore.
It is one of the five active payments banks in India. Other names include India Post Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, Jio Payments Bank, and NSDL Payments Bank.
The RBI has granted in-principle approval to Fino Payments Bank to convert into a small finance bank. This year, the regulator cancelled the licence of Paytm Payments Bank.
