Becoming A Deep-tech, Advanced Mfg Co. To Propel Growth For A Viksit Bharat; Mukesh Ambani: Jio users will get up to 100 GB of free cloud storage, to securely store and access all their photos, videos, documents, all other digital content, and data; Reliance spent over Rs3,643 crore ($437 million) in FY24 towards R&D, taking our spend on research to over Rs11,000 crore ($1.5 billion) in the last four years alone; We plan to establish gigawatt scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar; We have file
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, August 29, 2024: Mukesh Ambani today delivered Chairman’s statement at 47th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited.
The complete text of his speech is as follows:
At the outset, let us warmly congratulate our visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji for winning a third consecutive term. The 2024 parliamentary elections have produced a resounding victory for stability, continuity, and, above all, for India's vibrant democracy. This has enhanced India's reputation globally. And it augurs well for the growth prospects of our economy.
As I told you last year, Reliance has now become a net producer of technology. Breakthrough technologies and
innovation have always been the greatest wealth creators for nations, as well as for corporates. Reliance internalised this Vikas Mantra at every stage of our growth. In recent years, this mantra is transforming Reliance into a Deep-Tech company with Advance Manufacturing capabilities in three seminal ways.
First, we are embedding innovative technologies in every single business to generate ever-greater value for our customers.
Second, our talented engineers and scientists are incubating several critical technological innovations in-house to enhance our product and service offerings.
Third, we have built an AI-native digital infrastructure for all Reliance businesses, and have built our software stack, integrating end-to-end workflows and real-time dashboards.
With the success of our Atmanirbhar efforts, we are accelerating India's transformation into a Deep-Tech Nation.
Reliance spent over Rs3,643 crore ($437 million) in FY24 towards R&D, taking our spend on research to over Rs11,000
crore ($1.5 billion) in the last four years alone. We have more than 1,000 scientists and researchers working on critical research projects across all our businesses.
I feel proud to inform you that last year Reliance filed over 2,555 patents, mainly in the areas of bio-energy innovations,
solar and other green energy sources, and high-value chemicals.
Digital is another principal area of our in-house research. We have filed patents in 6G, 5G, AI-Large Language Models,
AI-Deep Learning, Big Data, Devices, Internet of Things, and Narrowband-IoT. I assure you that this ongoing tech-driven transformation of Reliance will propel your company into a new orbit of hyper-growth and multiply its value for years to come.
Our future is far brighter than our past. For example, Reliance took over two decades to be amongst the Top 500 companies globally. The following two decades saw us joining the league of the world's Top-50 most valuable companies. With our strategic adoption of Deep-Tech and Advance Manufacturing, I can clearly see Reliance earning a place in the Top-30 League in the near future.
Digital Services
In 2016, Jio began its mission to bring digital life to every Indian. And in eight short years, Jio has transformed India into an inclusive, premier digital society. We have democratised digital services, making them accessible to every citizen and business across our nation. Thanks to Jio, India is now the world's largest data market.
Today, Jio's network carries nearly 8% of global mobile traffic, surpassing even major global operators, including
those in developed markets. And we have done this while maintaining the highest service quality, setting new benchmarks on the global stage.
Jio's commitment to affordability has made its services accessible to all, with current data prices that are one-fourth of the global average and just 10% of those in developed countries.
In eight years, Jio has grown to become the world's largest mobile data company. Today, Jio is a 490-million-strong
family, reflecting the immense trust and loyalty of our customers. And each Jio customer, on average, uses over 30 GB of data monthly, driving a 33% growth in our data traffic over the past year.
We have also made significant strides in home services, with nearly 30 million homes customers across our digital
broadband services and digital TV services. This makes us one of the largest digital home services providers globally.
Among business users, over a million small and medium businesses in India have embraced Jio. We are proud to be
the trusted partner for over 80% of the top 5000 large enterprises in the country.
Each month, with every recharge and every bill payment, our customers cast their vote of confidence in Jio, reaffirming
their trust in us. We are deeply grateful to our valued customers. Their confidence drives us every day to push
boundaries and deliver the world's best digital services.
One of the most gratifying aspects of Jio's journey is that everything we have achieved is powered by our own
technology. From the start, we knew that leading the digital revolution required innovation, not just integration.
Today, Jio stands as a true deep-tech innovator. At the core of our success is our fully homegrown 5G stack, developed by Jio's talented engineers. This end-to-end solution, tailored for India's unique needs, has proven itself on a national scale.
Our Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS) are also fully homegrown. These platforms are the backbone of our network, ensuring top-tier service quality and efficiency.
Jio's focus on innovation is also reflected in our growing portfolio of intellectual property. Jio is among India's largest
patent holders, with over 350 patents in 5G and 6G technologies alone. These patents are key to securing Jio's place at the forefront of global innovation.
However, Jio's technological leadership is not just about Intellectual Property. It is also about the people behind them—the dedication and expertise of nearly 18,000 Jio professionals. These professionals have mastered cuttingedge technologies, building, delivering, and operating the industry-leading solutions Jio is known for. Jio's proven platforms, growing patents, and talented professionals position us to lead India's technological future. And we are doubling down on deep tech to further extend our competitive edge.
Last year, Jio reached a new milestone in both operating and financial performance.
* We welcomed over 43 million new subscribers to our broadband service.
* Our revenue surpassed the Rs1,00,000 crore ($12.0 billion) mark, while our net profit exceeded Rs20,000 crore
($2.4 billion).
* Our EBITDAmargin reached 50.1%, boosted by customer growth and operating leverage.
These remarkable achievements place Jio Platforms among the Top-12 companies in India in terms of net profits, underscoring our financial strength and operational excellence.
Despite our scale, Jio still remains one of the fastest-growing digital companies with immense opportunities for growth ahead.
Let me start with 5G. This past year, we completed the pan-India rollout of Jio True 5G, the world's largest and fastest 5G deployment. Over 85% of the 5G radio cells operating in India belong to Jio. With the widest coverage and the highest quality, Jio True 5G now reaches every corner of India. Jio has transformed India from 5G-dark to 5G-bright, creating one of the world's most advanced 5G networks. Through unmatched spectrum holdings, 5G Standalone Architecture, and advanced technologies like Carrier Aggregation and Network Slicing, Jio is the only operator in India, and among the first globally, to fully harness 5G's power.
Jio True 5G has also achieved the world's fastest 5G adoption. In just two years, over 130 million customers have embraced Jio True 5G.
And this is just the beginning. Today, nearly all smartphones over Rs 8,000 ($96) sold in India are 5G-ready. As 5G phones become more affordable, 5G adoption on Jio's network will accelerate, further boosting data consumption.
With Jio's lead in 5G coverage, capacity, and quality, we expect to capture the lion's share of the accelerating 5G adoption.
As more users migrate to 5G, our 4G network's capacity is opening up, uniquely positioning Jio to welcome over 200 million 2G users in India into the Jio 4G family. Our JioBharat initiative, offering entry-level 4G phones at prices lower than 2G phones, reflects our commitment to a 2G-mukt India. For many 2G users, JioBharat is their first step into digital services. And today, nearly half of 2G customers upgrading their devices choose JioBharat, demonstrating the unmatched value of Jio's offerings.
Let us now discuss the incredible growth potential of our Home Broadband services. We launched JioAirFiber, our 5G-based home broadband service, last October. JioAirFiber offers high-speed broadband across India, fulfilling customer orders faster than possible with optical fibre. In just over six months, we acquired our first one million air fibre customers. This milestone is remarkable and the fastest of its kind globally. But that was only the beginning. By leveraging our deep-tech capabilities and continuously optimising every process, we acquired the next 1 million air fibre customers in just 100 days. We are still streamlining our operations and see potential to accelerate even further. We are now challenging ourselves to add a million homes every 30 days. With this momentum, we are confident of reaching our target of 100 million home broadband customers at record speed. We are also targeting over 20 million small and medium businesses, bringing them the connectivity to thrive in today's digital age. But what excites us the most is the potential to connect India's 1.5 million schools and colleges, over 70,000 hospitals, and 1.2 million doctors. Imagine the possibilities when every school in India has high-speed internet, enabling digital classrooms, remote learning, and access to vast knowledge. Or consider connected hospitals, where doctors consult global specialists in real-time, access the latest research, and offer the best care. These institutions are our nation's backbone, and by connecting them, we are building a stronger, more resilient India.
For the past few years, I have discussed the exciting deep-tech frontier of Artificial Intelligence and its global potential to redefine industries, economies, and daily life. We made a bold promise: to bring the benefits of AI to every Indian, everywhere, just as we did with broadband. Today, I can affirm that we are on track to fulfil that promise. At Jio, we have always been at the forefront in leveraging cutting-edge technologies for faster scaling, higher efficiency, and superior customer service. And now, AI has become integral to everything we do. We have rapidly augmented our talent and capabilities, embracing the latest in Generative AI. And we are embedding AI into all our processes and offerings, creating end-to-end workflows with real-time, data-driven insights and automation. This is helping us deliver smarter, more responsive services, to both internal users and customers. To streamline AI adoption, Jio is developing a comprehensive suite of tools and platforms that span the entire AI lifecycle. We call this Jio Brain. Jio Brain enables us to accelerate AI adoption across Jio, driving faster decisions, more accurate predictions, and better understanding of customer needs. We are also starting to use Jio Brain to drive a similar transformation across other Reliance operating companies, and to fast-track their AI journey as well. I anticipate that by perfecting Jio Brain within Reliance, we will create a powerful AI service platform that we can offer to other enterprises as well.
While we are starting in our own backyard, I believe the true power of AI lies in making it accessible to everyone, everywhere. With Jio's AI Everywhere For Everyone vision, we are committed to democratising AI, offering powerful AI models and services to everyone in India at the most affordable prices. To achieve this, we are laying the groundwork for a truly national AI infrastructure. We plan to establish gigawattscale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, powered entirely by Reliance's green energy, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and a greener future. As the only company with access to such green power, Reliance is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. We also plan to create multiple AI inference facilities across our captive locations throughout the country, which we will scale up to support the growing demand. In parallel, we will partner with leading global technology companies and innovators to bring the most advanced AI models and solutions and tools to India. By leveraging our expertise in infrastructure, networking, operations, software, and data and by collaborating with our global partners, our goal is to create the world's lowest AI inferencing cost, right here in India. This will make AI applications in India more affordable than anywhere else, making AI accessible to all.
For instance, in the retail sector, AI can help optimise inventory management, reduce waste and ensure that the right products are always available at the right time. In healthcare, AI can assist doctors in diagnosing diseases more accurately and faster than ever before, potentially saving countless lives. In entertainment, AI can create personalised experiences for users, making content more engaging and relevant. In agriculture, AI can analyse vast amounts of data from various sources such as weather patterns, soil health, and crop growth and provide farmers with actionable insights to increase farm productivity and income. Similarly, in the education sector, AI can offer personalised learning experiences, helping students learn at their own pace and in their own style, regardless of their location or background. These are the kinds of innovations that Jio's AI efforts are focused on, ensuring that the benefits of AI reach every corner of India and touch the lives of every Indian. Let me focus on four sectors that will benefit the most from AI.
One, Agriculture. AI Farmers will use intelligent tools to conserve water, manage other resources efficiently, make use of accurate weather predictions, and grow more innovative crops that satisfy both food and non-food needs of society. They will optimise crop yields, control pests, reduce waste, and enhance environmental sustainability. This will lead to unimaginable growth in farm productivity, new economic activities in rural areas, and attractive and abundant livelihoods, thereby ending the India-Bharat divide forever.
Two, Education. AI Teachers will personalise learning experiences, making high-quality education accessible and affordable to all. Every Indian student, including those living in remote corners of our country, will be able to learn more, learn better and gain skills aligned to the needs of tomorrow's India and tomorrow's world. Imagine a future when 300 million Indian students are fully and comprehensively empowered by AI Teachers. They will rapidly modernise India for sure. But India will also become the largest supplier of high-paying human resources to countries around the world, solving global problems both virtually and physically. This bright future can be realised within a single generation, setting the stage for Viksit Bharat.
Three, Healthcare. 'Sarve Santu Niramaya' ─ May All Be Healthy ─ has been India's prayer and aspiration since Vedic times. AI Doctors will realise this age-old aspiration by making India a healthy, wealthy, and fit nation. Simple body-compute interfaces will become as commonplace as smartphones today. They will be affordable for all in the same way that Jio has made smartphones affordable even to common Indians. AI Doctors will also be accessible to all, and available everywhere 24x7. They will improve diagnosis and treatment, enable early detection of diseases, personalise treatment plans, and promote preventive and predictive cure, especially for children and senior citizens. In this way, AI will meaningfully prolong every Indian's disease-free life span. Four, Small Businesses.
AI Vyapar will enable merchants and small businesses achieve high levels of innovation and productivity. It will automate routine tasks, enhance decision-making with data-driven insights, and open new avenues for growth and competition. Using AI, even a small business owner operating in a Tier III city of India will be able to compete on a global scale. I am extremely confident that by harnessing the power of AI, India will leap into a future of unprecedented progress and prosperity. By embracing this technological revolution, we will unlock the full potential of our nation, transforming lives and creating a brighter tomorrow for every Indian.
And more importantly, these AI models and services will be hosted within India's borders. They will comply fully with Indian data and privacy regulations, ensuring the security and privacy of our citizens are always protected. To achieve AI leadership, we also need to invest in talent development. That is why Jio is partnering with Jio Institute to develop a cutting-edge AI program. This programme is designed to cultivate the next generation of AI talent in India. By equipping young minds with the skills for advanced AI, we are securing Jio's future and contributing to India's development as a global technology hub. At Jio, we believe that AI should not be a luxury reserved for a select few. AI services must be accessible on all devices, not just expensive, high-end devices. This requires a delivery model where AI services and the data processed by AI are both hosted in the cloud, allowing every user to access their data and AI services from anywhere, on any device, over low-latency broadband networks. This is the only way to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their socioeconomic background, will benefit from AI. We call this concept Connected Intelligence. As a first step to Connected Intelligence, every user needs ample and affordable data storage capacity in the cloud, with the highest levels of privacy and security. With data safely stored in the cloud, AI can deliver intelligent, personalised services over the network.
100 GB of free cloud storage
Today, to support our AI Everywhere For Everyone vision using Connected Intelligence, I am thrilled to announce the Jio AI-Cloud Welcome offer. Today, I am announcing that Jio users will get up to 100 GB of free cloud storage, to securely store and access all their photos, videos, documents, all other digital content, and data. And we will also have the most affordable prices in the market for those needing even higher storage. We plan to launch the Jio AI-Cloud Welcome offer starting Diwali this year, bringing a powerful and affordable solution where cloud data storage and data-powered AI services are available to everyone everywhere.
