Ambani says Jio was biggest risk of his life

New Delhi: Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani described his 2016 return to the ` with Reliance Jio as the “biggest risk” of his life, saying that even if analysts’ predictions of financial failure had come true, it would still have been worth it for the role it played in transforming India digitally.

In an interview with McKinsey & Co, the richest Asian said Reliance Industries was investing its own billions of dollars in rolling out 4G mobile networks -- which some analysts thought might not work out financially as India was not ready for the most advanced digital technology. “But I told my board, ‘In the worst case, we will not earn much return. That’s okay because it’s our own money. But then, as Reliance, this will be the best philanthropy that we will have ever done in India because we will have digitised India, and thereby completely transformed India’,” he said.

Since its launch in 2016, Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom market by providing free voice calls and extremely low-cost data, compelling competitors to cut prices and driving rapid digital adoption across the country. Before Jio’s arrival, mobile internet in India was relatively expensive and inaccessible to large sections of the population. Its entry led to a price war that significantly reduced the cost of data, making internet access affordable to millions of Indians, including those in rural and underserved areas.

The result was increased internet penetration -- India now has over 800 million internet users, making it one of the largest online markets globally. It hastened digital inclusion as affordable data has helped bridge the digital divide, bringing first-time internet users -- many from low-income households -- online and fuelling growth of digital services like e-commerce, fintech, edtech, and entertainment.