Reliance Group is marking Reliance Family Day on December 28 on the occasion of Dhirubhai Ambani's 90th birth anniversary, who founded one of India's biggest family-owned businesses, contributing significantly to India's GDP
Dhirubhai Ambani started a yarn trading business, which came to be known as Reliance Commercial Corporation. In 1977, the company got listed as Reliance Textiles Ltd. The IPO created history back then when the issue was oversubscribed by seven times
In 1985, the company was renamed to Reliance Industry Ltd. Dhirubai Ambani was convinced that India could become an economic powerhouse within a short period of time
Between the years 1995-96, the company, in a joint venture with NYNEX, USA, entered the telecom industry as Reliance Telecom Private Limite
Reliance discovered gas in the Krishna Godavari basin, India's first gas discovery by a private sector
Differences appeared between Mukesh Ambani and his younger brother Anil Ambani after the sudden death of their father Dhirubhai on July 6, 2002
In 2005, their mother Kokilaben divided Reliance assets between the two brothers
Mukesh Ambani got the following businesses:
- Refining
- Petrochemicals
- Oil and Gas
Anil Ambani got the following industries:
- Telecommunications
- Asset Management
- Entertainment
- Power-Generation Business
Over time, Mukesh Ambani expanded Reliance into a giant with ventures into retail and sustainable energy, as well as a return to the telecom industry with Reliance Jio, while Anil Ambani's industrial empire fell apart
Mukesh Ambani, the elder son of Dhirubhai Ambani, continued the legacy of RIL. He was the driving force behind the company's spectacular transition from textiles to fibre, then to petrochemicals, refining and energy
In these two years, the company came to identify four separate businesses: Power generation, Power distribution, financial services and telecommunications
Reliance marked its entry into the organised retail market in India through the launch of Reliance Fresh
Reliance entered the broadband sector with Infotel broadband services limited
Reliance announced a partnership with Bharat Petroleum, marking an entry into the oil and gas public sector industry
In March 2013, Reliance Retails had as many as 1466 stores nationwide. The business became the largest in India, having brands like Reliance Footprint, Reliance Trends, Reliance Digital, and Reliance Home Kitchen, among many more
Reliance Jio, a telecom venture with Mukesh Ambani's children Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani as directors, became an overnight hit
Mukesh Ambani launched Jio at the AGM on September 1, 2016. With Jio, voice calling, messaging, and roaming were free and data plans were 1/10th of market prices
Mukesh Ambani has been gradually reorganising Reliance's top hierarchy since 2019 to strengthen governance to par with international norms
For the calendar year 2020, the conglomerate raised funds to the tune of $20 billion for its digital services arm Jio Platforms, followed by another $6 billion for Reliance Retail Ventures
There were impressive names among the investors, including Facebook, Google, TPG, Silver Lake, KKR, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Produced by: Sonali
Designed by: Mohsin