Reliance Industries Limited is an

Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Its

businesses include energy, petrochemicals, natural
gas, retail, entertainment, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance
is the largest public company in India by market capitalisation[5] and revenue,[6] and
the 100th largest company worldwide.[7] It is India's largest private tax payer [8] and
largest exporter, accounting for 7% of India's total merchandise exports. [9]
The company has attracted controversy for reports of political corruption, cronyism,
fraud, financial manipulation, and exploitation of its customers, Indian citizens, and
natural resources.[10][11][12][13][14] Its chairman, Mukesh Ambani, has been described as
a plutocrat.[15]
History
[edit]
1958–1980
[edit]

Stamp released in 2002 to honor company

founder Dhirubhai Ambani
Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up in 1958 by Dushyant Corporation (DC
Group of Company) as a small venture firm trading commodities, especially spices
and polyester yarn.[1] In 1965, the partnership ended and Dhirubhai continued
the polyester business of the firm.[16] In 1966, Reliance Textiles Industries Pvt. Ltd.
was incorporated in Maharashtra. It established a synthetic fabrics mill in the same
year at Naroda in Gujarat.[17] On 8 May 1973, it became Reliance Textiles Industries
Limited. In 1975, the company expanded its business into textiles, with "Vimal"
becoming its major brand in later years. The company held its initial public
offering (IPO) in 1977.[18] The issue was over-subscribed by seven times. [19] In 1979,
a textiles company Sidhpur Mills was amalgamated with the company. [20] In 1980,
the company expanded its polyester yarn business by setting up a Polyester
Filament Yarn Plant in Patalganga, Raigad, Maharashtra with financial and technical
collaboration with E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., U.S.[17]
1981–2000
[edit]
In 1985, the name of the company was changed from Reliance Textiles Industries
Ltd. to Reliance Industries Ltd.[17] During 1985 to 1992, the company expanded its
installed capacity for producing polyester yarn by over 145,000 tonnes per annum.
[17]

The Hazira petrochemical plant was commissioned in 1991–92.[21]

In 1993, Reliance turned to the overseas capital markets for funds through a global
depository issue of Reliance Petroleum. In 1996, it became the first private sector
company in India to be rated by international credit rating agencies. S&P rated
Reliance "BB+, stable outlook, constrained by the sovereign ceiling". Moody's rated
"Baa3, Investment grade, constrained by the sovereign ceiling". [22]
In 1995/96, the company entered the telecommunications industry through a joint
venture with NYNEX, USA, and promoted Reliance Telecom Private Limited in India.
[21]

In 1998, Reliance took over Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited during

privatization of public sector enterprises.
In 1998/99, RIL introduced packaged LPG in 15 kg cylinders under the brand
name Reliance Gas.[21]
The years 1998–2000 saw the construction of the integrated petrochemical complex
at Jamnagar in Gujarat,[21] the largest refinery in the world.
2001 onwards
[edit]
In 2001, Reliance Industries Ltd. and Reliance Petroleum Ltd. became India's two
largest companies in terms of all major financial parameters. [23] In 2001–02, Reliance
Petroleum was merged with Reliance Industries. [18]
In 2002, Reliance announced India's biggest gas discovery (at the Krishna Godavari
basin) in nearly three decades and one of the largest gas discoveries in the world
during 2002. The in-place volume of natural gas was more than 7 trillion cubic feet,
equivalent to about 120 crore (1.2 billion) barrels of crude oil. This was the first-ever
discovery by an Indian private sector company. [18][non-primary source needed][24]
In 2002–03, RIL purchased a majority stake in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation
Ltd. (IPCL), India's second largest petrochemicals company, from the government of
India,[25] RIL took over IPCL's Vadodara Plants and renamed it as Vadodara
Manufacturing Division (VMD).[26][27] IPCL's Nagothane and Dahej
manufacturing complexes came under RIL when IPCL was merged with RIL in 2008.
[28][29]

In 2005 and 2006, the company reorganised its business by demerging its
investments in power generation and distribution, financial services and
telecommunication services into four separate entities. [30][non-primary source needed]
In 2006, Reliance entered the organised retail market in India [31] with the launch of
its retail store format under the brand name of 'Reliance Fresh'.[32][33] By the end of
2008, Reliance Retail had close to 600 stores across 57 cities in India. [18][non-primary source
needed]

In November 2009, Reliance Industries issued 1:1 bonus shares to its shareholders.
[citation needed]

In 2010, Reliance entered the broadband services market with acquisition of Infotel
Broadband Services Limited, which was the only successful bidder for pan-India
fourth-generation (4G) spectrum auction held by the government of India. [34][35] In
the same year, Reliance and BP announced a partnership in the oil and gas
business. BP took a 30 per cent stake in 23 oil and gas production sharing contracts
that Reliance operates in India, including the KG-D6 block for $7.2 billion.
[36]
Reliance also formed a 50:50 joint venture with BP for sourcing and marketing of
gas in India.[37]
In 2017, RIL set up a joint venture with Russian Company Sibur for setting up
a Butyl rubber plant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to be operational by 2018.[38]
In August 2019, Reliance added Fynd[39] primarily for its consumer businesses and
mobile phone services in the e-commerce space.[40][41]
In December 2022, Reliance Industries Market cap stood at Rs.17,59,017.23 crore.
[42]

In February 2024, Reliance Industries Ltd. and The BharatGPT group announced that
it will launch large language model (LLM), Hanuman's AI system in March 2024. The
model will work in 11 local languages in four major
areas: health, governance, financial services and education.[43]
In March 2024, Reliance Industries partnered with Disney to introduce Reliance-
Disney OTT platform.[44][45]
On 24 October 2024, Nvidia to supply chips to Reliance, other Indian companies in
AI push .[46]
Shareholding
[edit]
The number of shares of RIL are approx. 644.51 crore (6.44 billion). [47] The promoter
group, the Ambani family, holds 50.39% of the total shares whereas the remaining
49.61% shares are held by public shareholders, including FII and corporate bodies.
[47]
Life Insurance Corporation of India, public sector company, is the largest non-
promoter investor in the company, with 6.49% shareholding. [48]
In January 2012, the company announced a buyback program to buy a maximum of
12 crore (120 million) shares for ₹10,400 crore (US$1.5 billion). By the end of
January 2013, the company had bought back 4.62 crore (46.2 million) shares
for ₹3,366 crore (US$400 million).[49]
Listing
[edit]
The company's equity shares are listed on the National Stock Exchange of
India Limited (NSE) and the BSE Limited. The Global Depository Receipts (GDRs)
issued by the company are listed on London Stock Exchange.[50][51] It has issued
approx. 5.6 crore (56 million) GDRs wherein each GDR is equivalent to two equity
shares of the company. Approximately 3.46% of its total shares are listed on
Luxembourg Stock Exchange.[47][non-primary source needed]
Its debt securities are listed at the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) Segment of the
National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). [52][non-primary source needed]
It has received domestic credit ratings of AAA from CRISIL (S&P subsidiary) and
Fitch. Moody's and S&P have provided investment grade ratings for international
debt of the company, as Baa2 positive outlook (local currency issuer rating) and
BBB+ outlook respectively.[53][non-primary source needed][54][55] On 28 December 2017, RIL
announced that it will be acquiring the wireless assets of Anil Ambani-led Reliance
Communications for about ₹23,000 crores.[56]
Operations
[edit]
The company's petrochemical, refining, and oil and gas-related operations form the
core of its business; other divisions of the company include cloth, retail,
telecommunications, and special economic zone (SEZ) development. In 2012–13, it
earned 76% of its revenue from refining, 19% from petrochemicals, 2% from oil &
gas and 3% from other segments.[57][non-primary source needed]
In July 2012, RIL informed that it was going to invest US$1 billion over the next few
years in its new aerospace division which will design, develop and manufacture
equipment and components, including aircraft, engine, radars, avionics and
accessories for military and civilian aircraft, helicopters, unmanned airborne
vehicles, and aerostats.[58]
In July 2024, Reliance Industries was granted the approval by United States to
resume importing oil from Venezuela.[59]
The company had more than 200 subsidiary companies and more than 15 associate
companies as of 2024.[60][61]
Subsidiaries
[edit]
Jio Platforms
[edit]
Main article: Jio Platforms
Jio Platforms Limited, essentially a technology company, is a majority-owned
subsidiary of RIL. It has a valuation of more than US$100 billion on expert view as of
October 2022. It is the result of a corporate restructuring announced in October
2019, resulting in all the digital initiatives and the telecommunication assets being
housed under this new subsidiary.[62] This new subsidiary holds all the digital
business assets including Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which in turn holds the Jio
connectivity business - mobile, broadband and enterprise, and also the other digital
assets (Jio Apps, Tech backbone and Investments in other tech entities like
Haptic, Hathway and Den Networks among others).[63] In April 2020, RIL announced
a strategic investment of ₹43,574 crore (US$5.2 billion) by Facebook into Jio
Platforms. This investment translated into a 9.99% equity stake, on a fully diluted
basis.[64][non-primary source needed] Further in May 2020, RIL sold roughly 1.15% stake in Jio
Platforms for ₹5,656 crore (US$680 million) to the American private equity
investor, Silver Lake Partners.[65] Intel became the 12th company to invest in
Reliance Jio platforms after it invested ₹1,894.50 crore ($250 million), the total
investments in Jio platforms is ₹117,588.45 crore so far. [66] On 16 July
2020, Google announced that it will acquire a 7.7% stake in Jio Platforms for
₹33,737 crore.[67] Mukesh Ambani has named his son, Akash Mukesh Ambani as the
chairperson of Jio in 2022.[68]
Reliance Retail
[edit]
Main article: Reliance Retail
Reliance Retail is the retail business wing of the Reliance Industries. In March 2013,
it had 1466 stores in India.[69][non-primary source needed] It is the largest retailer in India.
[70]
Many brands like Reliance Fresh, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Time Out, Reliance
Digital, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Trends, Reliance Autozone, Reliance Super,
Reliance Mart, Reliance iStore, Reliance Home Kitchens, Reliance Market (Cash n
Carry) and Reliance Jewel come under the Reliance Retail brand. Its annual revenue
for the financial year 2012–13 was ₹108 billion (US$1.3 billion) with an EBITDA
of ₹780 million (US$9.3 million). Its market value is more than $60 billion. [57][non-primary
source needed][71]
Mukesh Ambani stepped down from the position of chairperson of
Reliance Retail and handed over the job to his daughter Isha Ambani Piramal.
[72]
Ambani announced it during the 45th Reliance AGM, in 2022. As per reports, this
act is a part of Ambani's leadership transition. [73]
Reliance Industrial Infrastructure
[edit]
Main article: Reliance Industrial Infrastructure
Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited (RIIL) is an associate company of RIL. It
was incorporated in September 1988 as Chembur Patalganga Pipelines Limited, with
the main objective being to build and operate cross-country pipelines for
transporting petroleum products. The company's name was subsequently changed
to CPPL Limited in September 1992, and thereafter to its present name, Reliance
Industrial Infrastructure Limited, in March 1994. [74] RIIL is mainly engaged in the
business of setting up and operating industrial infrastructure. The company is also
engaged in related activities involving leasing and providing services connected
with computer software and data processing. [75][non-primary source needed]
Network18 Group
[edit]
Main article: Network18 Group
Between 2011 and 2014, Reliance acquired majority stake in Network18 Group.
Though Network18, Reliance owns multiple news channels including CNN-
News18 and News18 India.[76]
Network 18 is a mass media company. It has interests in television, digital
platforms, publication, mobile apps and films. It also operates two joint ventures,
namely Viacom18 and History TV18 with Viacom and A+E Networks respectively. It
has also acquired a partial part of ETV Network and since renamed its channels
under the Colors TV brand.[citation needed]
Other
[edit]
 Reliance Global Corporate Security is a private security company which
provides enterprise wide security to assets of Reliance Industries. It is
composed of former member of the military and paramilitary forces, law
enforcement agencies, intelligence services as well as technical experts from
other industries.[77][78]
 Reliance Life Sciences works around medical, plant and
industrial biotechnology opportunities. It specialises in manufacturing,
branding, and marketing Reliance Industries' products in bio-
pharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, clinical research services, regenerative
medicine, molecular medicine, novel therapeutics, biofuels, plant
biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology sectors of the medical business
industry.[79]
 Embibe a Bengaluru-based EdTech start-up raised funding of ₹89.91 crores
from RIL in February 2020. Over three years, Reliance Industries had invested
around $180 million in the start-up. A part of it was towards acquiring a stake
of 72.69% from Embibe's existing investors. In December 2019, Embibe,
under the proprietary name (Individual Learning Private Limited), announced
 that it picked up equity shares in Bengaluru-based K12 startup Funtoot
(eDreams Edusoft). The deal was capped at ₹71.64 crores in cash, which
holds 90.5% of the equity share capital of Funtoot. In February 2020, it
acquired the rival platform OnlineTyari. [80][81]
 Reliance Logistics is a single-window [clarification needed] company selling
transportation, distribution, warehousing, logistics, and supply chain-related
products.[82][83][non-primary source needed][84] Reliance Logistics is an asset based
company with its own fleet and infrastructure. [85] It provides logistics services
to Reliance group companies and outsiders. [86]
 Reliance Solar, the solar energy subsidiary of Reliance, was established to
produce and retail solar energy systems primarily to remote and rural areas.
It offers a range of products based on solar energy: solar lanterns, home
lighting systems, street lighting systems, water purification systems,
refrigeration systems and solar air conditioners. [87][non-primary source needed] In 2022
RIL AGM, Mukesh Ambani specified that his youngest son Anant Ambani will
take over the new energy business.[88]
 Reliance Eros Productions LLP, joint venture with Eros International to produce
film content in India.[89]
 Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of RIL which provides financial services. The Company owns
securities of companies other than banks, as well as offers investment
services.[90] RIIHL bought majority stakes in two companies - logistics firm
Grab A Grub Services Private Limited and software company C-Square Info
Solutions - for over ₹146 crores in March 2019. RIIHL also sponsored the
Tower Investment trust (InvITs) for the acquisition of 49% equity in RJio's
tower assets for ₹25,215 crores by the Canadian asset management
firm Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.[91] On 22 April 2021, RIIHL acquired the
entire issued share capital of Stoke Park Ltd, company that owns and
manages sporting and leisure facilities in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire for
£57 million.[92]
 Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of RIL bought a 51.78% stake in robotics and AI firm Asteria
Aerospace for ₹23.12 crore and an 85% stake in NowFloats Technologies for
₹141.63 crores in Dec 2019.[93] It also holds 18.83% in EIH Limited, the
flagship company of The Oberoi Group, one of the largest luxury hotel chains
in India. In November 2019, RSBVL invested an undisclosed amount in
SkyTran Inc. for 12.7%, increased it further to 26.3% by April 2020. In
February 2021, RIL became the majority stakeholder with 54.46% with an
additional investment of $26.76 million. [94]
 Reliance Sibur is a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Silbur in the
business of making synthetic rubber.[95][non-primary source needed]
 Relicord is a cord blood banking service owned by Reliance Life Sciences. It
was established in 2002.[96][non-primary source needed] It has been inspected and
accredited by AABB,[97] and also has been accorded a licence by Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), Government of India.
 Reliance Institute of Life Sciences (RILS), established by Dhirubhai Ambani
Foundation, is an institution offering higher education in various fields of life
sciences and related technologies.[98][non-primary source needed][99]
 Reliance Clinical Research Services (RCRS), a contract research
organisation (CRO) and wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Life Sciences,
specialises in the clinical research services industry. Its clients are primarily
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. [100][non-primary source
needed]

 LYF, a 4G-enabled VoLTE device brand from Reliance Retail. [101]