New Delhi, March 10 -- Bharti Airtel Ltd. Chairman Sunil Mittal, a sprightly 68, told investors recently that he still has "some years left". That sounds like an understatement given his ambitious attempt to redefine succession planning in the country by keeping his children away from the business he built, even as he plans their eventual entry.

The next generation of Mittals, including his sons Shravin and Kavin, and daughter Eiesha, are building their own track records outside Airtel, with their own businesses and their own consequences, including failures. Eventually, Mittal implies, they will earn their way back to the table. He called it a "unique experiment". It is certainly unusual in the context of how Indian promoter families ha...