Reliance Industries Limited Annual General Meeting 2020: India’s own 5G by Jio, mega Google investment announced

Reliance develops complete 5G solution

In his address to Annual General Meeting of Reliance, Mukesh Ambani announced a complete 5G solution developed from scratch in-house by Jio.

Mukeshbhai said: JIO has developed, positions JIO on the cutting edge of another exciting frontier – 5G.

JIO has designed and developed a complete 5G solution from scratch. This will enable us to launch a world-class 5G service in India… using 100% home grown technologies and solutions. This Made-in-India 5G solution will be ready for trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available… and can be ready for field deployment next year.

And because of JIO’s converged, all-IPnetwork architecture… we can easily upgrade our 4G network to 5G.Once Jio’s 5G solution is proven at India-scale, Jio Platforms would be well positioned to be an exporter of 5G solutions to other telecom operators globally, as a complete managed service.

I dedicate Jio’s 5G solution to our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s highly motivating vision of ‘ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’.

Google enters Jio, picks up 7.7 per cent stake

RIL CMD Mukesh Ambani, speaking at 43rd AGM today announced Jio’s partnership with Google.

Mukesh Ambani said: ‘Let me welcome, Google to be our strategic investor in Jio Platforms. Today, we have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement with GOOGLE… under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7% stake in Jio Platforms. This transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. With this investment by Google, strategic and financial investors have committed a total of Rs 152,056 crore in the last few months.’

Ambani also announced plans to build an Android-based smartphone operating system.

He said, ‘Google and Jio are partnering to build an Android-based smartphone operating system. Through this partnership, we are confident that we can accelerate the national mission of putting a smart device in the
hands of every Indian. As India is standing at the doorsteps of the 5G era, we should accelerate the migration of 350 million Indians, who currently use a 2G feature phone, to an affordable smart phone. They should not be deprived of the benefits of the digital and data revolution. Jio is determined to make India 2G-mukt.’

Addressing the AGM via video, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said,

“….. Getting technology into the hands of more people is a big part of Google’s mission to organize the world’s information
and make it universally accessible and useful. Through this partnership with Jio Platforms we see the chance to have
an even greater impact than either company could have alone.

This partnership is a key part of the next chapter of investment in India. Earlier this week we announced our Google for
India Digitization Fund, an effort to invest 75,000 crore rupees or approximately $10 billion — to accelerate India’s
digital economy over the next 5 to 7 years.

Our investment of $4.5 billion in Jio is the first — and the biggest — investment we will make through this fund. I am
excited that our joint collaboration will focus on increasing access for hundreds of millions of Indians who don’t
currently own a smartphone…while improving the mobile experience for all.

Growing up I remember how the arrival of each new technology improved the lives of my family. Today, people in India
no longer have to wait for technology to come to you. Awhole new generation of technologies are happening here, first.
At the same time, smartphones and affordable data have made it possible for a billion Indians to come online.
Reliance, and Jio in particular, deserves a good deal of credit for this progress.

But there is more work to do to connect every Indian to the opportunities that technology creates.This goal is especially
important at a time of enormous challenge for India and the world. I’ve never been more hopeful about India’s future —
it’s a future we can help shape by partnering together.”

Reliance Foundation partnering with govt for mega-scale Covid testing across India: Nita Ambani

Reliance Foundation is partnering with the government and local bodies for conducting mega-scale Covid-19 testing across the country and will volunteer for nationwide distribution of its vaccine when it is found, its Founder and Chairperson Nita Ambani said on Wednesday.

“The war against coronavirus is far from over. Reliance Foundation is gearing up to partner with the government and local municipalities for rapid mega-scale Covid testing across India with the help of Jio’s digital infrastructure,” she said while addressing Reliance Industries’ 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) virtually.

“I can assure you that as soon as a corona vaccine becomes available, we will volunteer by using the same digital distribution and supply chain to ensure that the vaccine reaches every nook and corner of our country,” Ambani added.

Nita, who was addressing the company’s AGM for the first time, said Reliance and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation established India’s first 100-bed exclusive Covid-19 Hospital in Mumbai within a record time of two weeks. The facility now has 200 beds.

Under the Mission Anna Seva — the world’s largest free food distribution programme — the initiative provided over five crore meals to marginalised communities, daily-wage earners and frontline workers across the country.

“The organisation produces one lakh N95 facemasks and personal protective equipment (PPE) daily for health-workers and care-givers. The PPE produced is of one-third the price of imported PPE,” she said.

Reliance is also providing free fuel to emergency vehicles to help ensure Covid-19 patients quickly get the medical care they require.

Besides, Jio is providing digital connectivity to more than 40 crore people, empowering over 30,000 organisations to work from home, and lakhs of students to learn from home, said Ambani.

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