The company was founded in 1982 as a joint venture and was derived from establishing voice and data services over mobile networks. It has grown to become the fourth largest operator in India with a 16.4% nationwide market share. Vodafone later acquired Hutchison Essar in 2007, becoming Vodafone Essar which is now one of the largest mobile companies in India, offering both prepaid and postpaid plans. Asim Ghosh led the company for 10 years before retiring in 2017 and was replaced by Marten Pieters as CEO.