Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest Rs 75,000 crore ($9 billion) each into its new energy business and petrochemical expansion, according to a company presentation. In its FY25 result statement, Ambani said the company has laid a strong foundation for its projects in renewable energy and battery operations. "In the coming quarters, we will see the transition of this business from incubation to operationalisation.
India's most valued company, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), reported a robust performance in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), surpassing analyst expectations. This coupled with positive commentary by brokerages led to the stock of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate surging as much as 4.44 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,325.1. It settled at Rs 1,301.3 apiece, up 2.57 per cent.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the India business of global media house Walt Disney and formed a joint venture with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. The JV will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India with a combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore and will be led by Nita Ambani as its chairperson, according to a joint statement.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 Media (Viacom18), and The Walt Disney Company announced on Thursday that they have completed the merger of Viacom18's media and JioCinema businesses into Star India (SIPL), creating a mega joint venture valued at Rs 70,352 crore. The new entity will be guided by three chief executive officers (CEOs), "who will lead the company into a new era of ambition and disruption", according to a joint statement. Kevin Vaz will lead the entertainment division across all platforms, Kiran Mani will head the combined digital division, and Sanjog Gupta will oversee the sports operations.
It came as a surprise to all stakeholders - competing telecom companies (telcos), most analysts and even the government's internal projections on revenues from the 5G auctions. Reliance Jio disrupted all calculations by paying a stiff Rs 40,000 crore to buy 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700-MHz band, globally considered a key band for efficient 5G service coverage, along with the default 3.5 GHz band and the ultra-high speed and low-latency millimetre band of 26 GHz band. So what made Jio pay almost 45 per cent of its total spend in this auction for the 700 MHz band - much more than what it rustled up even for the 3.5 GHz band?
The cricketing extravaganza became a business opportunity for everyone, from five-star hotels to cafes to street vendors across the country on Sunday.
Ordering groceries, vegetables and daily essentials is just a WhatsApp away as billionaire Mukesh Ambani's e-commerce platform JioMart taps into the popular messaging app to scale up online business in its fight for dominance in the giant Indian retail market with Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Ambani's twin children, Akash and Isha gave a preview of the ordering at Meta's second edition of the Fuel for India event on Wednesday. A new 'tap and chat' option allows users to order groceries through WhatsApp.
Country's largest telecom player Jio has completed 5G coverage planning in top 1,000 cities and conducted field trials of its home-grown 5G telecom gears, Reliance Industries said in its annual report. In the report, RIL (Reliance Industries Limited) said that Jio took major steps during 2021-22 in getting ready for 5G with its 100 per cent indigenous technology. The company was the biggest bidder in the recently-concluded 5G spectrum auction.
Shares of telecom services providers - Reliance Industries (parent of Reliance Jio), Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea - have shed up to 23 per cent so far in the current calendar year as growth in the wireless subscriber segment begins to plateau amid higher tariffs and rising costs of smartphones. By comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, and sectoral index BSE Telecom have dipped 1.8 per cent, and 12.6 per cent, respectively, ACE Equity data shows. However, analysts expect the trend to reverse soon as telecom services providers focus on the next leg of growth -- fixed broadband (FBB) segment.
India and the visiting US officials have decided to hold a wrap-up session on Saturday morning to conclude the three-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, government sources said. They said the discussions are at a "very" early stage.
Reliance Jio may not ask for a premium for its 5G services in the initial stages of the launch, according to sources in the company. The company will roll out 5G commercial services in four cities -Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata - around Diwali this month and slowly ramp up the processes for other cities, too. A senior executive, when asked whether Jio will charge higher tariffs for 5G against 4G, said: "In the initial stages, customers have to adopt 5G, then they will have to find value in the service, and then one can look at monetisation."
Telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti may post a 5-7 per cent sequential rise in revenue with a steady margin for the second quarter of FY22, according to Jefferies. Bharti's growth will be led by segmented tariff hikes taken in the second quarter ended September, while Jio's growth will be driven by continued subscriber growth, it further said. Jefferies expects the outlook on tariff hikes for Bharti, further details on JioPhone Next for Jio, and tenancy outlook for Indus Towers to be the key things to watch for in the September quarter.
After continuously bleeding subscribers for nearly two years, state-owned telecom services provider BSNL added 2.9 million users in July when its private-sector rivals raised tariffs by nearly 20 per cent. With BSNL keeping tariffs unchanged, many subscribers using entry-level plans shifted from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), said analysts.
Reliance-Google's new smartphone has got mixed reviews from analysts and brokerages. The phone pricing is seen unattractive for low-end customers and bundled offers are being viewed as non-disruptive. While this could slow the pace of adoption, it could set the stage for tariff hikes in the industry, feel analysts.
Telecom major Jio will start the beta trial of 5G services in four cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi from October 5 with a select set of customers, the company said on Tuesday. The company will send invites to customers under 'Jio True 5G Welcome Offer' to try its 5G services and the subscribers will get Unlimited 5G data with up to 1 gigabit per second speed. "Post the successful demonstration of its True-5G services at the India Mobile Congress 2022, Jio is announcing the Beta trial of its True-5G services on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra, for Jio users in four cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi," Jio said in the statement.
Nearly a dozen firms have shown interest in building the foundation model and LLMs, while others have proposed sector-specific SLMs.
With the Adanis submitting an earnest money deposit (EMD) of just Rs 100 crore on Monday for the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, the apprehension among the rivals that the group is nursing ambitions of being an all-India mobile player has been allayed at least for now. Based on its EMD, analysts say it can buy spectrum worth just Rs 900 crore, whose use will be limited to enterprises and captive networks -- that too is likely only in a few circles where it has its infrastructure like ports, airports, and power stations. While getting all-India millimetre band spectrum of 400 MHz (which costs Rs 2,800 crore) is ruled out, it might choose circles like Gujarat and Mumbai to start with.
Reliance Retail's digital commerce platform JioMart will morph into an e-marketplace offering multiple brands - from electronics, consumer durables, fashion and lifestyle, beauty, home, kitchen, and grocery - as it girds up to take on the likes of Amazon and Flipkart ahead of the festival season sales. India's largest retailer was in the process of onboarding third-party sellers these past few months, further increasing its selection across categories multifold. Its website and application offers general merchandise as well.
In about two years of commercial roll out of its fixed-line broadband services, Reliance Jio has toppled 20-year-old state-run telecom company BSNL as top service provider in the segment. According to a monthly telecom subscribers report released by the telecom regulator Trai on Tuesday, Jio now leads the fixed-line broadband segment with 4.34 million customers. The segment had been dominated by the state-run telecom since its inception about 20 years ago.
Jio Platforms is expected to use its 388 million mobile phone subscribers as the cornerstone of an e-commerce and digital services business to rival Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart.
In its highest ever reduction in seller fees, ecommerce giant Amazon India has introduced zero referral charges on over 12 million products on its platform that are priced below Rs 300. The move is aimed at boosting seller growth on Amazon.in and supporting hundreds of thousands small businesses across the country.
Intel Capital is the 12th company to join the list of marquee firms who have recently invested in Jio Platforms, taking the total investment amount to Rs 1,17,588.45 crore.
A joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd and BP of the UK on Wednesday said it has signed an agreement with the Mahindra Group to explore EV and low-carbon solutions, including battery swapping technology options, for electric 3-wheelers. Besides exploring creation of EV products and services, the non-binding MoU signed by Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML) and Mahindra Group would look for identifying synergies in low-carbon and conventional fuels, the company said in a statement. "The MoU also covers evaluating charging solutions by Jio-bp for Mahindra vehicles including electric 3 and 4 wheelers, quadricycles and e-SCV (Small Commercial Vehicles - sub 4 ton)," it said.
'You have to hand it to Mukesh for sheer daring.' 'Who else in India would have sunk a stupendous $30 billion in a business that was yet to get a single customer?' 'With that, the older of the Ambani siblings has shown that he is in a class of his own,' says T N Ninan.
'Life does not change in such a way that everything becomes easy. Struggle and hustle is there for everyone. 'The difference is that people have started knowing me.'
Reliance Jio retained its top position with the highest average data download speed of 21.9 megabit per second among 4G service providers in October, according to the latest data published by telecom regulator Trai. However, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea network have been continuously recording an increase in data download speed thereby reducing the gap with the Jio network. After a marginal dip in 4G data download speed, the Jio network in October resumed the speed level of 21.9 mbps it had recorded in June, while Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL) have registered close to two and half times jump in data download speed on their network.
'The male-dominant Indian culture displays a lot of violence, a lot of aggression towards women.'
The auction of radio waves used for mobile services saw a muted opening on Tuesday, with five rounds attracting bids worth about Rs 11,000 crore from telecom companies. The government has put over 10,500 Mhz spectrum in eight frequency bands -- 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz, valued at Rs 96,238 crore at base price, for auction.
It is said money doesn't buy happiness, and the show proves it -- there is romance, heartbreak, affairs and murder. A place that should be heavenly quickly turns into a hell of misery, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Monday announced a Rs 2 lakh crore investment in deploying fifth-generation or 5G telephony with rollout in metro cities by Diwali. Jio, the nation's largest telecom operator, has deployed standalone 5G stack rather than upgrading the existing 4G network, to offer ultra-high speed internet, he said at Reliance Industries' 45th AGM.
'This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built.'
Jio's Estonia arm and Finland-based University of Oulu have signed an agreement to collaborate for development of 6G technology as well as to foster entrepreneurship. The collaboration with the university is expected to extend Jio's 5G capabilities and will help explore use cases in the 6G era. Jio Platforms is the parent of telecom player Reliance Jio.
Reliance Jio's decision to acquire 700 MHz in combination with the possible use of an advanced standalone (SA) 5G network could give it an edge over its rivals, according to most analysts. The dissenters argue that the stiff price tag touching Rs 40,000 crore to grab 10 MHz of spectrum in 700 to provide coverage for its SA 5G network which offers ultra-low latency (unlike non-standalone or NSA), has a long way to go in India in terms of finding use cases that can be monetised. Globally, 700 MHz is a pivotal band which provides huge coverage, indoor penetration (especially useful in India where walls are thick) and is already considered by the European Union to be the 'pioneer band' for 5G, with 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz, both of which were auctioned in India recently.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk thanked Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for not agreeing with Indian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal on auctioning spectrum for satellite services, saying he is looking forward to serving Indians. Reacting to Scindia's statement that satellite spectrum will not be auctioned, Musk, in a post on X, said, "much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink".
Reliance Jio is close to finalising its contract with telecom gear maker Ericsson to roll out its 5G network in Mumbai and Maharashtra and Kolkata and West Bengal in the first phase of its launch in October. And it is going with Nokia for the lucrative Delhi circle, and Chennai, which includes Tamil Nadu, say sources aware of the development. This is the first time that Jio is opting for multiple vendors.
'In the audience's mind there is no urgency to go see a film in the theatre.' 'If you pay for social media buzz it does not convert into bums on seats.'
Domestic passive mutual fund (MF) schemes will have to sell around Rs 1,500 crore worth of ITC Hotels shares once the demerged entity lists on the exchanges, according to estimates. Passive MF schemes - especially those tracking the Nifty 50 and Sensex - will have to offload their holdings in ITC Hotels as the stock will be excluded from the indices.
The premium mall, Jio World Drive (JWD), is spread across an area of 17.5 acre and it will be Mumbai's first rooftop Jio drive-in Theatre which will be operated by PVR. JWD will house only premium international and Indian brands.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday unveiled the next phase of growth at Reliance Industries Ltd, with retail and telecom worth over $100 billion each, doubling revenues and pre-tax profit in 3-4 years, new energy business becoming profitable by 2031, and core oil and chemical business continuing to be the robust growth engine. The sprawling conglomerate with interests in refining, oil and gas, petrochemicals, telecom, retail, and media is on track to more than double in size before the end of the decade, Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance, told company shareholders.
Reliance Jio has informed Department of Telecom that it will not opt for four-year spectrum payment moratorium being offered by the government to telecom companies as part of a relief package, sources said. Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have said they will avail the four-year moratorium on payment of dues.
