On August 27, 2023, the 46th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was held through video-conferencing where Managing Director (MD) and Chairman Mukesh Ambani of RIL made key announcements.
- RIL’s consolidated revenues stood at Rs 9,74,864 crore, while Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for FY23 was Rs 1,53,920 crore. The net profit was Rs 73,670 crore.
Launch of Jio AirFiber
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) is all set to launch ‘Jio AirFiber’, a new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) internet service for homes and offices, on September 19, 2023 i.e. on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. It will utilize 5G technology for high-speed connectivity enabling users to use apps at low latency and high bandwidth for applications like video streaming, gaming, and video conferencing.
- It aims to provide up to 1.5 Gbps (Gigabytes per second) speed.
- The speed will be offered over the air without using any wires or cables.
Jio Financial Services applies for General Insurance Licence
The new and the demerged financial services company of RIL, Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL), will foray into insurance segment including life, general and health, using predictive data analytics to co-create contextual products. It will initiate its services with non-life or general insurance, as JFSL has applied for the same with the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
- It should be noted that JFSL has been capitalized with a net worth of Rs 1.2 lakh crore (Rs 1,20,000 crore) to create one of the world’s highest capitalised financial services platforms at inception.
JFSL Subsidiaries:
It will have a total of six subsidiaries: Jio Payments Bank, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings, Reliance Retail Finance, Reliance Payment Solutions, Jio Information Aggregator Services, and Reliance Retail Insurance Broking.
- JFSL has allocated the capital of Rs 1,000 crore for each of the business units.
Key Points:
i.JFSL will explore path-breaking features such as blockchain-based platforms and central bank digital currency (CBDC).
ii.It will use predictive analytics for unique customer products, and drives digital adoption in payments.
iii.JFSL already partners with BlackRock for asset management industry.
iv.Currently, India has 31 non-life and 26 life insurance companies.
Ambani Children to join RIL board
Isha Ambani (31), Akash Ambani (31), and Anant Ambani (28), the children of Mukesh and Nita Ambani, were appointed as the Non-Executive Directors on the board of RIL.
- Nita Ambani stepped down from the Board of Directors of RIL. she will continue as the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation and attend the RIL Board meetings as a permanent invitee to the Board.
- Mukesh Ambani will continue as chairperson-MD for 5 more years i.e. till 2028, and mentor the next generation leaders.
RIL to set up 100 Compressed Biogas Plants
RIL will set up 100 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants to convert agri-waste into gas. It already has set up two demo units for CBG at Jamnagar while it has commissioned the first commercial scale CBG plant at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
- Reliance has become India’s largest Bio-energy producer.
Key Points:
i.RIL aims to use 5.5 million tonnes of agro-residue, reducing 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions and generating 2.5 million tonnes of organic manure annually.
ii.It will boost gas production to 30 million standard cubic meters per day, 30% of India’s production, and 15% of current demand.
iii.This gas will save up to USD 7 billion in annual imports for India.
Others:
i.RIL’s telecom unit, Jio, will be rolling out one million 5G cells by December, 2023.
ii.Reliance Jio is also will develop India-specific artificial intelligence (AI) models aimed at the country’s government, businesses and consumers, while also building up 2,000 MW of AI-ready computing capacity.
iii.JioCinema, over-the-top (OTT) media streaming service by Reliance became India’s largest digital entertainment destination.
iv.Reliance Jio has introduced Jio Smart Home Services that will allow users to control home appliances seamlessly.
v.RIL will be establishing its Battery Gigafactory in India by 2026. It will manufacture battery chemicals, cells and packs, and will include a battery recycling facility.
vi.On the other hand, RIL’s solar Giga Factory, Dhirubhai Green Energy Giga Complex at Jamnagar, Gujarat, will be on-streamed in a phased manner by the end 2025.
- It will manufacture PV Modules, cells, wafers and ingots, polysilicon, and glass.
vii.Reliance will switch to 100% green energy for captive consumption to cut energy costs, and upgrade the output of its refineries into value added chemicals.
viii.RIL is also accelerating the installation of at least 100 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030.
ix.It targets to achieve Net Carbon Zero by 2035.
Recent Related News:
i.On 13th June, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) climbed eight spots to the 45th rank, the highest for an Indian company in the 2023 edition of the Global 2000 list of public companies published by Forbes’.
ii.According to the “2022 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500: a Six Month Update” released on 20th June 2023, RIL topped as India’s most valuable company with a value of Rs 16.37 lakh crore followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with Rs 11.76 lakh crore and HDFC Bank with Rs 9.41 lakh crore.
About Reliance Industries Limited (RIL):
CMD– Mukesh D. Ambani
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment– 1958
