Shabnam Sinha to Succeed Sunil Mittal as Airtel Payments Bank Chair

Shabnam Sinha will replace Sunil Bharti Mittal as the chairperson of the Airtel Payments Bank, with this its a change of leadership for the Payments Bank. Mittal, who is the founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, will retire from his position at Airtel Payments Bank from September 30, 2026. The new chairperson, Shabnam Sinha, will assume office from October 1, 2026 for three years, after she has been appointed by the company’s Board and approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Shabnam Sinha New Airtel Payments Bank Chairperson

According to the press release issued by Airtel Payments Bank, Sinha will join the board as the new chairperson of the company for a period of three years starting October 1, 2026.

The news came to light after being approved by the company’s Board and the Reserve Bank of India.

Sinha currently sits as an independent director on the board and is the chairperson of the Special Committee of the Board for Monitoring Frauds.

Bharti Chairman to Resign

Sunil Bharti Mittal has been serving as the non-executive chairman of Airtel Payments Bank since April 2016.

He is expected to resign from the Board of the bank by September 30, thus ending his decade-old association with the leadership of the payments bank.

While looking back at his time with the company, Mittal said that he had enjoyed witnessing how the payments bank turned into an institution catering to millions of customers in urban and rural India from an accessibility project.

Who Is Shabnam Sinha?

Shabnam Sinha has close to four decades of experience in leadership and board positions in various fields including development finance, financial services, public policy and institutional transformation.

Her professional experience includes working with the World Bank, advising governments and institutions in Asia, Africa and Europe on governance, risk management and effectiveness.

She has also gained experience in financial inclusion, digital transformation and institution building.

All of which is expected to help Airtel Payments Bank further their financial inclusion initiatives.

Airtel Payments Bank’s Presence in India

As of now, Airtel Payments Bank,

• Has more than 121 million monthly active users
• Has nearly 30 million bank account holders
• Has more than 500,000 banking points
• Reaches into three-fourths of villages in India

The bank has set itself up as a major force in the domain of digital and mobile banking, as well as providing access to banking services in unserved areas.

Focus on Financial Inclusion

The bank has become the country’s second-largest mobile bank and UPI Autopay provider, as per the firm.

Women have also been a part of the rural banking network of the bank, as one in every five rural banking points is run by women banking correspondents.

Sinha has mentioned that integration of technology and banking will still be an important factor as India continues with inclusive growth through digital financial services.