After a successful run with Jio which decimated the rival telecom players and has empowered 28 crore users in India till date, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani now wants to become India's first Internet tycoon, according to The Economist.
"With his service Jio, he has upended Indian telecoms and changed his country. Now he wants to go further and become Indian Jeff Bezos or Jack Ma, using Jio as a launch pad," said The Economist in its latest January 26 edition.
India's mobile phone customer base reached 1.17 billion in November last year, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The broadband user base crossed 500 million users and nearly 97 per cent of them are on wireless connections.
Jio alone has created a mega base of 28 crore subscribers with ultra-cheap data plans.
"His ambition to become a tech tycoon goes beyond making money in telecoms. RIL has already invested in content creation, and has bought rights to distribute cricket matches and Disney films on its 'Jio TV' platform," added the report.
Addressing the "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019" on January 18, Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance would double its investment and employment numbers over the next decade.
Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead a fight against "data colonisation," he said Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail would soon launch a new commerce platform for small retailers -- a mega mission which will first be launched in Gujarat and then across the country.
Reliance Jio Infocomm last week reported a 65 per cent increase in its standalone net profit for the October-December 2018 period.
Its standalone net profit stood at Rs 831 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2018-19, against Rs 504 crore reported in October-December 2017-18.
30 Indian startups secure $287 million funding this week
Lithium-ion battery pack maker Lohum secured $54 million (Rs 450 crore) in series B funding from Singularity Growth, Baring Private Equity, Cactus Venture Partners and Venture East, among others.
India opposes introducing a 'special envoy' to combat Islamophobia at UN
Calling India "a proud champion of pluralism," India's Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj opposed the establishment of the post of "special envoy" on a special religion at the United Nations today.
UN chief calls out social media for spread of Islamophobia
Purveyors of hate speech are misusing the most powerful megaphone in history -- social media -- to amplify and spread their despicable ideologies. Online platforms have become breeding grounds for extremist ideologies and harassment, he told a high-level event to mark the International Day to Combat Islamophobia on Friday.
BJP won’t ally with Uddhav Thackeray, nor in talks with Raj Thackeray: Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will not ally again with Shiv Sena's (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray, nor is it in any discussions with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Raj Thackeray for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
India’s forex reserves scale two-year high of $636.1 billion
India's foreign exchange reserves surged by a whopping $10.47 billion to scale a two-year high of $636.1 billion for the week ended March 8, the latest data released by the RBI on Friday showed.
Petrol, diesel prices cut by Rs 2 across India
Petrol and diesel across India will be cheaper by around Rs 2 per litre from early on Friday as the oil marketing companies have revised prices, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry announced on Thursday.
India's WPI inflation eases to 0.2 pc in February
India's inflation rate based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) eased to 0.2 per cent in February, from 0.27 per cent in January, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday showed.
AI will be smarter than any single human by next year: Musk
Elon Musk who is currently locked in a battle with ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Wednesday that artificial intelligence (AI) will probably be smarter than any single human by next year.