Shabnam Sinha will become Airtel Payments Bank chairperson on October 1, 2026, succeeding Sunil Bharti Mittal in a significant board-level transition at the payments bank.
Sinha, currently an independent director on the bank’s board, has been appointed for a three-year term. Mittal will complete his tenure as non-executive chairman and step down from the Airtel Payments Bank board on September 30, 2026.
The change concerns board leadership and does not affect day-to-day executive management. Anubrata Biswas will continue as managing director and chief executive officer of Airtel Payments Bank.
Airtel Payments Bank leadership change at a glance
- Incoming Chairperson: Shabnam Sinha
- Outgoing Chairperson: Sunil Bharti Mittal
- Effective date: October 1, 2026
- Term: Three years
- Current position: Independent director, Airtel Payments Bank
- Executive leadership: Anubrata Biswas continues as managing director and chief executive officer
The appointment is a change in board leadership, not in the bank’s day-to-day executive management. As MD and CEO, Anubrata Biswas remains responsible for the bank’s operations, while the chairperson leads the board and its oversight of strategy, governance, risk and management accountability.
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Who is Shabnam Sinha?
Shabnam Sinha is a development-finance and public-policy professional with more than 30 years of experience across the World Bank, government-linked initiatives and private-sector institutions.
According to Airtel Payments Bank’s board profile, Sinha helped expand a World Bank portfolio in India from about $500 million to $4 billion. Her experience covers governance, blended finance, risk management, institutional development and financial inclusion.
She has also worked on technology-led public infrastructure and skilling programmes and has supported the mobilisation of sovereign and philanthropic funding for micro, small and medium enterprises, women entrepreneurs and start-ups.
At Airtel Payments Bank, Sinha chairs the board’s Special Committee for Monitoring Frauds. She is also a member of the Risk Management Committee and Information Technology Committee.
That combination is particularly relevant for a digital bank, where cyber fraud, technology resilience, customer protection and regulatory compliance have become central board-level responsibilities.
Why the appointment matters
The succession gives an independent director responsibility for leading the bank’s board after a decade under its founding chairman.
Sunil Bharti Mittal was appointed non-executive chairman of Airtel Payments Bank in April 2016, before the bank began operations. Under his chairmanship, the institution developed a hybrid distribution model combining mobile banking with a large physical network of banking correspondents.
The bank says it now has more than 500,000 active banking points and reaches three out of four villages in India. It also provides services through the Airtel Thanks application.
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Airtel Payments Bank’s latest financial performance
The leadership transition comes after a year of strong growth for the bank.
For FY2025-26, Airtel Payments Bank reported:
- Revenue of ₹3,207 crore, up 18.4% year-on-year
- Net profit of ₹109 crore
- Customer balances of ₹4,612 crore, up 26%
- Annualised gross merchandise value of ₹4,542 billion
- Savings-account monthly transacting users of 28.8 million
- More than six million National Common Mobility Cards issued
The bank also said it processes one in four Aadhaar Enabled Payment System transactions and approximately half of the remittances handled in its relevant market. These figures are company-reported and can be reviewed in the bank’s FY26 financial update.
Is Sunil Bharti Mittal leaving the Airtel group?
No. The development concerns his position at Airtel Payments Bank.
Mittal remains the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Airtel’s board also approved his reappointment as chairman of the listed telecom company for a further five-year term beginning October 1, 2026, subject to the required shareholder process.
He is therefore stepping down from the payments bank’s board, not retiring from the wider Airtel or Bharti group.
What does the change mean for customers?
The appointment does not automatically alter savings accounts, UPI services, FASTag, NCMC cards, interest rates or other customer products.
Customers do not need to take any action because of the board transition. Any future changes to products, charges or account conditions would have to be communicated separately by the bank.
What happens next?
Sinha is expected to take charge on October 1 after the completion of the applicable formalities. Investors and customers will be watching for changes in board composition, risk oversight and the bank’s long-term strategy.
Her initial priorities are likely to include strengthening digital safety, supporting profitable growth, expanding financial inclusion and ensuring that the bank’s governance framework keeps pace with its increasing transaction scale.
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Sources: Airtel Payments Bank board profile, the bank’s FY2025-26 financial update and Bharti Airtel’s regulatory disclosure. Financial and operational figures are company-reported.
Updated on August 18, 2026: This article was updated with Airtel Payments Bank’s FY26 financial performance and clarification that Anubrata Biswas continues as MD and CEO.
