Rahul Vatts to Lead COAI as Chairperson for 2026-27, Ravi Gandhi Vice-Chairperson

Rahul Vatts of Bharti Airtel will lead COAI as Chairperson for 2026-27. Ravi Gandhi of Reliance Jio will be Vice-Chairperson. The announcement came after COAI's Annual General Body Meeting. The telecom industry body reviewed sector developments and discussed future priorities. This leadership change marks a new phase for strengthening India's digital communications ecosystem.

New Delhi: Rahul Vatts, the Group Chief Regulatory Officer and Director, Corporate Affairs of Bharti Airtel, was named the new Chairperson of COAI, as the telecom industry association announced its leadership for 2026-27 on Thursday.

Vatts takes over at the helm of COAI from Vodafone Idea's Abhijit Kishore who served as Chairperson of the telcos' body for 2025-26.

Further, Ravi Gandhi, Chief Regulatory Officer of Reliance Jio Infocomm, will serve as Vice-Chairperson of COAI, the release said.

Announcing the conclusion of its Annual General Body Meeting for the 2025-26 fiscal year, COAI said the meeting brought together members to review key developments in the sector, deliberate on emerging priorities and discuss the roadmap for strengthening India's digital communications ecosystem.

"The COAI leadership for 2026-27 was also announced at the meeting. Rahul Vatts, Group Chief Regulatory Officer and Director, Corporate Affairs, Bharti Airtel Limited, will serve as Chairperson of COAI, while Ravi P Gandhi, Chief Regulatory Officer, Reliance Jio Infocomm will serve as Vice-Chairperson," the COAI release said.

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Vatts is a telecom industry veteran with 29 years of experience across telecom and broadcasting licensing, economic regulation, spectrum management and regulatory litigation.

As Chief Regulatory Officer of Bharti Airtel, he leads the company's government relations, policy and regulatory engagements across mobility, broadband, DTH, data centres, submarine cables, international subsidiaries and digital businesses, COAI said adding he also chairs GSMA's Spectrum Policy Working Group and is a member of GSMA's Global Policy Group and Spectrum Strategy and Management Group.

Gandhi brings over three decades of experience in public policy, telecom regulation and network operations, and has previously served as Chief Regulatory Officer at Bharti Airtel and, as an officer of the Indian Telecom Services, held key positions in the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.

"He exemplifies the powerful combination of technical expertise and strategic foresight, driving innovation and meaningful societal impact," the release said, adding that Gandhi holds a PhD from IIT Delhi and a BTech from NIT Kurukshetra.

COAI Director General S P Kochhar noted that India's telecom sector is at a critical stage of transformation, with digital communications infrastructure increasingly serving as the foundation of the country's digital economy.

"As technologies such as AI, 5G Advanced, satellite communications and future 6G systems evolve, the sector will play an even greater role in enabling innovation, inclusion and economic growth," Kochhar added.