‘WAITING FOR INDIA TOMORROW TO RISE’
Sports and education play pivotal roles in Nita Ambani’s future plans for India. The former is a “magical equaliser, a force that can inspire, unite and strengthen, the latter can empower and emancipate”. In a conversation with Kalli Purie, she shared her
YOUTH OLYMPICS IN INDIA IN 2026
I am convinced the Youth Olympic Games will be a completely different story for Indians in coming years if our society and education system invest the same attention on sports that we have done in engineering and medicine. The onus is not just on our government or coaches or players, it is on us as parents, teachers and families. It is my dream to give our youth the incredible platform of the Olympics in 2026 to showcase their talent.
LESSONS FROM CHINA
India is among the world’s largest youngest nations. The age limit for the Youth Olympics is 15 to 18 years, which means the Indians who will participate in 2026 are between seven and 10 years today. That’s over 100 million children. We need a nationwide grassroots programme that scouts talent in our schools, villages and every corner of our country. This calls for a nationwide coalition between the government, sports associations, philanthropic organisations, educational institutions, mass media and society as a whole.
USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATION
We have over 260 million students enrolled in schools. The scarcity of quality teachers and a lack of infrastructure continue to be our major challenge. Even when enrolment has risen, learning outcomes have lagged behind; 25 per cent of children in the age group of 14 to 18 cannot fluently read basic text in their language. Yet, one in three children in the same age group uses mobile phones and accesses the internet. That is our big opportunity: digital technology and connectivity. Digital technology is the modernday railways. It is connecting the length and breadth of our country. Our goal at Jio is to connect 58,000 colleges, 1.9 million schools and reach out to over 200 million children.
TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT
I was 44 when I was introduced to sports. Mukesh had bought the Mumbai Indians. team and we were at the bottom of the table for two years. That’s when I went to South Africa to show my support to the team and was introduced to the magical world of sports. After that, I took over Mumbai Indians from IPL 3 and there’s been no looking back. And to the question, does Mukesh hand me the hard projects? Well, I have to be honest, Mukesh has the floodlights in life and I have the spotlights. So, where he leaves it, I begin.
SON ANANT’S FIGHT WITH OBESITY
At the age of 18, he came to me and said, “I want to lose weight, will you help me?” I said, “Of course.” He stayed in Jamnagar for 500 days, walked 23 km every day, followed a diet with no cheat days and lost 118 kg the natural way. He is an inspiration to all of us today.
NOTHING LIKE BEING A MOTHER
The most important role I play is that of a mother. There is nothing more important to me. I want to give my three children the strength, determination and courage to face the world on their own terms with the roots that we have given them.