Reliance Jio-Microsoft pact to create many more Dhirubhais: Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries, termed the pact between Reliance Jio and Microsoft as the ‘defining partnership of the decade’.

Speaking at the Microsoft Future Decoded Summit, Ambani said the partnership will work with businesses from startups, micro-enterprises, merchants, shopkeepers and large enterprises to drive, enable and build a new India, which will create many more Dhirubhai Ambanis.

“Though gaming is non-existent in the country today, everything we are doing in xCloud and broadband connectivity will make gaming bigger than music, movies and TV shows put together in the future,” he said, elaborating the huge potential of broadband connectivity in India.

“Prior to the launch of Jio, the average internet speed in India was 256 kbps, which increased to 21 mbps as average mobile speed. Price of data in this country was Rs 300-500 per GB. With the launch of Jio, prices have come down to as much as Rs 12-14 per GB,” Ambani said.

This fuelled digital growth and resulted in the Digital India vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi becoming a people’s movement today, he said. “Since Digital India was kick-started, about 380 million Indians have shifted to Jio’s high-speed 4G network.”

India, he feels, is poised to emerge as the top three economies globally in the next 5-10 years riding on the digital wave.