Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani addressed the comapany’s 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday. This was first-ever digital AGM and was held online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 1 lakh investors from 500 locations globally attend the meet. In the meeting, Ambani said that Jio will connect half a billion mobile customers, a billion smart sensors and 50 million home and business establishments in the next three years.  He announced that Reliance has become net debt free before its deadline of March 2021 due to multiple investments from global companies.

Here are the key takeaways from the July 15 event: 

  • JioMeet, which is India’s first cloud-based video conferencing app, has 5 million downloads within days of its launch.
  • Tech giant Google will be investing over Rs 33,737 crore for 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The target of capital raise for Jio Platforms is complete with Google onboard.
  • Jio is developing a complete 5G solution from scratch and will launch trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available. Digital connectivity projects such as Mobile broadband, JioFiber, Jio’s enterprise broadband, broadband for SMEs, and Jio’s Narrowband Internet-of-Things (NBIoT) have been kick-started.
  • Google and Jio are partnering to develop an Operating System to power a entry-level 4G/5G smartphone.
  • Reliance has concluded its joint venture with BP in the existing fuel retailing business with BP having invested Rs 7,629 crore for their 49 per cent stake.
  • Six US private equity firms, including Silver Lake Partners, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, TPG and L Catterton have invested in Jio platforms. Qualcomm has also invested Rs 730 crore for a 0.15 per cent stake.
  • Jio TV plus will be featuring content from over 12 global Over The Top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar, Voot, SonyLiv, Zee5, JioCinema, JioSaavn and others.
  • A beta platform of JioMart, which is Jio’s grocery model with kirana partners, is being piloted in 200 cities with daily orders reaching up to 2.5 lakh.
  • The company’s latest product, Jio Glass, is a headset to provide Mixed Reality content. Interactive using holographic content and 3D avatars are the other features of the product.