WhatsApp-JioMart partnership announced; Jio 5G in metro cities by Diwali: Big announcements at Reliance AGM 2022

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries, on Monday made a slew of announcements at the  company’s 45th annual shareholders' meeting. 

Ambani said India stands as a beacon of growth and stability amid global crisis, while noting the fact that there is severe economic stress in many parts of the world. 

Here are the top announcements made at the 45th AGM of Reliance Industries: 

Jio 5G services in four metro cities by Diwali

Reliance Jio, the nation’s largest telecom operator, will launch 5G services by Diwali in metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, he said adding this will be expanded to other cities and towns in phases to cover entire India in 18 months by December 2023.

Jio 5G will be the world's largest and most advanced 5G network. It will deploy the latest version of 5G, called Stand-Alone 5G, which has zero dependency on our 4G network, announed Mukesh Ambani.

After buying spectrum worth Rs 88,078 crore in the auctions, Reliance Jio said earlier this month it is gearing up to roll out an advanced 5G network to make India a global leader in digital connectivity and solutions.

The company had emphasised that it is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time, backed by nationwide fibre presence, an all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, an indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem.

Reliance enters FMCG business

Reliance will launch its fast-moving consumer goods business this year. “The objective of this business is to develop and deliver high quality, affordable products which solve every Indian’s daily needs,” said Isha Ambani. 

WhatsApp-Jiomart partnership announced

Announcing the much-awaited WhatsApp-Jiomart partnership, Isha Ambani said that the two companies will aid growth. JioMart-WhatsApp users can use WhatsApp pay, cash on delivery and other payment methods, she added.

"Excited to launch our partnership with JioMart in India. This is our first-ever end-to-end shopping experience on WhatsApp -- people can now buy groceries from JioMart right in a chat. Business messaging is an area with real momentum and chat-based experiences like this will be the go-to way people and businesses communicate in the years to come," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post.

Reliance partners with Qualcomm to develop 5G solutions

Reliance Jio has partnered with Qualcomm to develop 5G solutions for India. The firm is partnering with Google to develop ultra-affordable 5G smartphones and Google Cloud.

Mukesh Ambani on O2C Business

Mukesh Ambani said that RIL is committed to integrate the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business. He said that the company will invest Rs 75,000 crore over the next 5 years in oil-to-chemicals operations. Carbon fibre to be the growth lever for oil-to-chemical operations, he added.