Mukesh Ambani promises to boost RIL's investment in Bengal to ₹1 lakh cr

Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, during the opening day of the 8th Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2025 today, said Reliance's commitment to Bengal’s all-round development remains unwavering, and that the conglomerate plans to increase its overall investments in the state to Rs 1 lakh crore by the end of this decade.

Ambani says in 2016 when he first attended the Summit, Reliance’s investments in the state stood at below Rs 2,000 crore. "Today, in less than a decade, our investments in Bengal have increased by 20 times to over Rs 50,000 crore. We shall double this investment by the end of this decade."

He promised that RIL's 5G stack, coupled with the rapid rollout of JioFiber and AirFiber, will enable Bengal to use Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and other disruptive technologies to modernise every sector of its economy.

These investments have created over 1 lakh direct and indirect jobs and spurred significant economic growth, he says.

Ambani made five specific commitments to the state of West Bengal, which included Digital Infrastructure and Services, Reliance Retail expansion, push for the artisan economy of the state, Reliance’s New Energy Initiative and Reliance Foundation's work.

The RIL Chairman says back in 2016, Jio opened its commercial operations from Kolkata. "Jio’s network now covers 100% of Bengal’s population."

He says Jio is now building Bengal's first cable landing station in Digha, which will be commissioned earlier next year and will become a gateway for Bengal’s digital leadership in eastern India.

"Jio is building a state-of-art AI-ready Data Centre in Kolkata, which will be completed in the next 9 months."

Ambani also promised to expand Reliance Retail from its present 1,300 stores in West Bengal to 1,700+ stores within the next three years, operating 2.2 million square feet of warehouses in the state. "Our New Commerce business has empowered lakhs of kiranas in the state by bringing them under the umbrella of modern retail. This has enabled them to increase their productivity and income, and reap benefits of scale."

He also talked about expanding Bengal’s fabulous artisan economy. "Swadesh, our new initiative, is supporting the priceless and incredibly diverse heritage of India’s arts and crafts. It provides a platform for the best in Bengal to make their products available all over India and now all over the world."

In his fourth commitment to the state, Ambani says Reliance’s New Energy Initiative will begin its operations in 2025. "In this, Reliance would like to contribute to Bengal’s green economy. Our motto is: “Solar Bangla for Sonar Bangla”.

He says in addition to this, RIL's Reliance Foundation has partnered with the State Government and serves in the Kalighat Temple Renovation Project. "Most of this excellent work is carried out by the State Government and it has done so with the spirit of devotion."

He says his company's investment in Bengal is "not only financial but an emotional investment". He said Reliance has had a wonderful experience of doing business in the state and urged the other industry leaders to script new chapters in Bengal’s growth story.