The following is the full text of RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s speech delivered today at Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting in Mumbai.
Dear Shareholders,
I start with the newest and youngest member of the Reliance family – Jio. Let me begin my words with a dedication. In the journey of time, there comes a few life changing movements. Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s inspiring vision of a “Digital India” is one such movement. Jio is dedicated to realizing our Prime Minister’s vision for 1.2 billion Indians. Jio will give the “power of data” to each Indian to fulfil every dream and to collectively take India to Global Digital Leadership.
With these words, I want to dedicate the commencement of Jio to the Digital India Vision of our Prime Minister, 1.2 billion Indians and India. Esteemed Shareowners Why did we call our venture “Jio”? Why is our motto JIO – DIGITAL LIFE? Permit me to articulate the philosophy that has given birth to Jio. The world is at the beginning of a digital revolution. Anything and everything that can go digital is going digital – at an exponential rate. Faster than you and I can imagine. Whether it is manufacturing, commerce, healthcare, education, entertainment – life is going Digital.
Through the ages, information and knowledge have driven humanity’s progress. When you put the power of data connectivity, computing, software and information together, the price/performance of everything changes drastically. Everything gets disrupted. I believe, in the next 20 years as human civilization, we will collectively achieve more than what has been achieved in the last 300 years. We are at the beginning of a new era for humanity. In this era, if you are not digital, and if you don’t have globally competitive digital tools and skills, you simply will not survive.
You will get disrupted. You will be outcompeted. You will be left behind. You will become irrelevant. India and Indians cannot afford to be left behind. Today, India is ranked 155th in the world for mobile broadband Internet access, out of 230 countries. Jio is conceived to change this. I have no doubt that with the launch of Jio, India’s rank will go up to among the top ten. 1.2 Billion Indians cannot be left behind as the world enters a new era. We have the youngest population in the world.
Give them affordable digital tools. Give them the skills. Give them the environment. They will surprise us. It is this opportunity to transform India, and transform the lives of our 1.2 Billion Indians that motivated Reliance to invest in this space. And Jio is the result. We have called it Jio because Jio means to live. There is nothing more precious in this world for the rich or the poor than Life.
I believe it is the fundamental right of every Indian to live a life of freedom, a life of fulfilment and to realize their fullest potential. Digital Technologies open the doors to this Life- the Digital Life. However, Life cannot survive without oxygen. Data is the oxygen of Digital Life, and oxygen must never be in short supply. Worse still, the supply of oxygen for digital life must never be unaffordable to any user. Doing so shows disrespect for Life. Jio respects Life.
Which is why Reliance created Jio. Jio is more than just business for us. Jio is our solemn commitment to enrich the life of every Indian. Jio means TO LIVE and to BE ALIVE. To every opportunity and realize the potential of every Indian. Dear Shareowners, The world’s demand for Digital oxygen, that is data, is growing explosively. Jio’s mission is to meet this exploding need for India, and to take our nation from data shortage to data abundance. And to enable a Digital Life for a Digital India.
A Digital India – where the Digital Life of no Indian is ever threatened by scarcity, poor quality or unaffordability of data. Where access to information knows no barriers. Where quality education reaches the most inaccessible corners of the country driven by digital learning. Where quality healthcare percolates right up to the remotest regions powered by e-Healthcare. Where farmers are empowered with real-time Information to be connected with global markets. Where mobile and e-banking ensures financial Inclusion. Where connected Indians drive innovation and the world looks to India for the next big idea.
This is our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision. And Jio’s mission is to realize this Digital India vision, and to ensure that Indians have the highest quality and the highest quantity data access anywhere in the world, at the most affordable prices. Ladies and gentlemen, Jio is an entire ecosystem that will allow Indians to live Digital Life to the fullest.
The Jio ecosystem stands tall on FIVE fundamental pillars: 1. The best quality broadband network with the highest capacity 2. A world of affordable, 4G smartphones and wireless IP devices 3. Compelling applications and content 4. Superior digital service experiences, and 5. Affordable and simple tariffs.
Let me start with the first pillar – the network. All communication on the Internet is done using a digital language called the Internet Protocol – or IP for short. All smartphones, all computers, all servers – in fact – each and every participant on the Internet speaks IP.
In the ensuing future, even household items like Televisions, refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines and even light-bulbs will talk IP. Industrial equipment, instrumentation systems and control systems will speak IP. Public infrastructure like traffic lights and safety cameras will speak IP.
This is called the Internet of things. Most legacy telecom providers have not built their networks for data or the Internet. They have built their network to support voice and SMS. As the Internet revolution caught on, they have had to retrofit their legacy networks to deal with data and IP as an afterthought.
Click to read the rest of the speech in PDF format: MUKESH AMBANI AGM SPEECH 2016