Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani, denied it had any plans to enter consumer retail business.
"Reliance strongly denies any such plans," a RIL spokesperson told PTI in response to queries whether the company had plans to invest up to Rs 30,000 crore to set up a retail chain across the company and if work had started on the project.
According to an earlier report, Reliance Industries had drawn an ambitious diversification programme to pump in up to Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) over the next five years to set up a mega retail chain, covering about 100 cities across the country.
Even as his younger brother Anil Ambani announced a personal investment of Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) in his newly acquired Reliance Capital and Reliance Energy, Mukesh has quietly drawn up a blue print to establish a huge retail chain on the pattern of some big names in the US such as Wal-Mart.
RIL was unwilling to comment officially on the retail chain plans. The company spokesperson did not respond to queries on the subject, but sources in the know said that a team had been set up to handle the project.
As part of the plan, that may give the group a distinction of being the single largest retail chain in India, RIL has started approaching various state governments for necessary clearances and acquisition of land, sources said.
The retail business, which would have almost all the leading brands, would be a mega initiative with a direct consumer base, requiring a huge workforce.
Manoj Modi, a close associate of Mukesh, who was hitherto director of Infocomm, is understood to have been given charge of the project.
Modi, however, could not be contacted, while other top officials of RIL did not comment on the issue.
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