‘Yes, we can solve any problem together’ Agri, education, › health key focus areas: Ambani
Former president says if the US and India work together, there is no challenge in the world that they cannot overcome
We can’t pretend automation doesn’t exist, we can’t ignore globalisation. But we can invest in our people’s skills... We still need to do more to close the gap between rich and poor nations
NEWDELHI: With his multi-billiondollar investment in telecom services well on track, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday signalled the start of the next investment cycle, which might see the group venture into agriculture, education and healthcare.
In its last cycle, the group invested $60 billion in India largely through Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which has placed India on the cusp of becoming the country with the world’s largest data network.
“We have nearly completed this investment cycle. We are now ready to commit even more in our next investment cycle. We are doing this out of our undiminished conviction that India is the biggest investment opportunity in the world,” Ambani said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi.
“As we move forward, we will look at issues that create more and more value for all Indians. I think agriculture is difficult; education is important; healthcare is the most difficult. We can only think about what we can do in each of these areas,” he said.
“What we did with Jio, not many in the world had backed us but... India in terms of the data infra will be ahead of the US by 2019,” he added.
According to him, Jio is on course to turning profitable, as the company is already ahead of schedule in terms of the returns that it is generating.
Jio disrupted India’s telecom sector with ultra cheap offerings that made data available to millions of Indians and made India the largest consumer of data in the world, ahead of even the US and China. India now ranks number one in the broadband connectivity index as against 150th before Jio’s launch.
Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd, which has been locked in a fierce turf battle with Jio, said in a recent interview with The Economic Times that Jio has made the industry write off as much as $50 billion since its launch. Ambani has a different take and continues to consider Mittal his “friend” but believes that the industry should not be dependent on regulations or policies for profits.