Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is not just one of India’s largest conglomerates—it is a symbol of transformation, innovation, and ambition. From its humble beginnings as a textile manufacturer to becoming a diversified giant with footprints in petrochemicals, telecom, retail, digital services, and green energy, RIL has shaped the course of Indian business.
This blog takes a deep dive into the evolution of Reliance Industries, its key business verticals, recent financials, strategic focus, and what lies ahead for one of India’s most influential companies.
1. The Evolution of Reliance: From Textiles to Technology
Reliance was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani in 1966 as a small textile manufacturer. The company’s polyester brand ‘Vimal’ soon became a household name. With time, Reliance shifted its focus towards petrochemicals and refining—building the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Under the leadership of Mukesh Ambani, the company entered new domains. The early 2000s saw the company investing heavily in oil exploration, petrochemicals, and eventually telecom and retail. Today, Reliance is a diversified behemoth with a strategic focus on building future-ready, tech-enabled, and sustainable businesses.
2. Business Verticals: The Four Growth Engines
Reliance operates through four core business divisions:
A. Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C)
The O2C segment remains the backbone of Reliance’s business. This includes refining, petrochemicals, fuel marketing, and bulk chemicals. Jamnagar houses two of the world’s largest and most complex refineries, with a combined capacity of over 1.2 million barrels per day.
Reliance continues to focus on high-margin petrochemicals and is gradually shifting towards specialty chemicals and sustainable energy inputs, especially in light of global climate goals and declining fossil fuel demand.
B. Retail
Reliance Retail is the largest and fastest-growing retail company in India. Its presence spans grocery (Reliance Fresh), fashion (Trends, Ajio), electronics (Reliance Digital), and e-commerce platforms (JioMart). The retail arm is expanding both organically and through acquisitions of domestic brands.
As of FY2025, Reliance Retail has more than 18,000 stores across India and continues to integrate offline and online retail experiences through technology and supply chain efficiencies.
C. Digital Services (Jio)
Reliance Jio revolutionized the telecom industry by introducing ultra-affordable 4G data and voice services in 2016. Within a few years, it became India’s largest mobile network operator with hundreds of millions of subscribers.
Jio is now focused on expanding its 5G network, cloud services, enterprise solutions, and AI-driven platforms. It also plays a central role in Reliance’s ambitions to build India’s digital infrastructure.
D. New Energy & Green Initiatives
In line with global climate commitments and India’s Net Zero vision by 2070, RIL has committed significant capital to renewable energy. Its new energy plans include solar panel manufacturing, green hydrogen production, energy storage solutions, and setting up giga factories.
Mukesh Ambani has announced an investment of over ₹75,000 crore towards clean energy in the coming years, marking a major transition from fossil fuels to green energy.
3. Financial Performance: Strong Fundamentals and Healthy Growth
Reliance reported robust financials in FY2025:
- Revenue: Over ₹10.7 lakh crore, showing a 7% year-on-year growth.
- Net Profit: ₹81,309 crore, driven by strong performance in digital and retail segments.
- EBITDA Margins: Consistently healthy across all verticals.
- Debt Reduction: The company continues to reduce net debt, following its asset monetization and investments from global partners.
Reliance has maintained its financial health through strategic divestments, raising equity capital in Jio Platforms, and robust cash flows from its legacy O2C business.
4. Strategic Partnerships and Investments
Reliance’s strength lies not just in scale but also in its strategic alliances. Over the past few years, the company has attracted investments from global giants including:
- Facebook (now Meta), which took a stake in Jio Platforms.
- Google, which invested to co-develop affordable Android phones.
- Silver Lake, KKR, ADIA, and other global funds have invested in both Jio and Reliance Retail.
- Collaborations with global tech players and energy firms in green hydrogen and solar manufacturing.
These alliances have strengthened Reliance’s technological capabilities, capital base, and access to international markets.
5. RIL and Technology: A Digital Revolution
It is not just a consumer-facing giant; it is also a tech-first company at its core. Jio has laid extensive fiber and 5G infrastructure across the country. Its digital services now span:
- JioFiber (home broadband)
- JioTV, JioCinema (OTT and content platforms)
- JioMeet (video conferencing)
- JioCloud (cloud storage)
- JioThings (IoT platform for smart homes and enterprises)
Moreover, is investing in Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, and next-gen data centers to position itself as a future-ready digital enterprise.
6. Commitment to Sustainability
It aims to be net carbon zero by 2035, far ahead of India’s national targets. It has launched the “Reliance New Energy Council” and made significant acquisitions in the green energy space.
Plans include:
- Developing India’s first green hydrogen ecosystem.
- Setting up integrated solar PV module manufacturing units.
- Battery Gigafactory for energy storage solutions.
- Using advanced bio-energy and circular economy technologies.
Sustainability is not just a corporate social responsibility goal for RIL—it’s a business strategy that will shape its next phase of growth.
7. Challenges Ahead
Despite its dominant position, Reliance faces several challenges:
- Global Oil Volatility: Geopolitical tensions and OPEC+ decisions can impact its O2C margins.
- Regulatory Hurdles: As it expands into digital and retail, scrutiny from competition authorities is increasing.
- Execution Risk: Green energy projects are capital-intensive and time-sensitive.
- High Competition: Both telecom and retail sectors are fiercely competitive in India.
To address these, RIL continues to prioritize innovation, capital discipline, and customer-centric services.
8. The Mukesh Ambani Succession Plan
In recent years, Mukesh Ambani has initiated a well-planned succession strategy. His three children have taken over leadership roles in various verticals:
- Akash Ambani: Chairman of Reliance Jio.
- Isha Ambani: Heads Reliance Retail and JioMart.
- Anant Ambani: Active in the new energy and sustainability business.
This succession planning ensures generational continuity while allowing professional managers to execute daily operations.
9. Future Outlook: The Next Decade of Dominance
is set to define India’s corporate future over the next decade. Its ambitions include:
- Becoming the world’s largest producer of green hydrogen.
- Deepening digital inclusion in rural India through Jio.
- Scaling JioMart to compete with global e-commerce giants.
- Creating the world’s most advanced clean energy ecosystem.
With a unique blend of scale, capital, leadership, and vision, Reliance is not just reacting to change—it is shaping it.
10. Conclusion: A Symbol of India’s New-Age Industrial Revolution
Reliance Industries is more than just a conglomerate—it is a reflection of India’s transformation story. From an oil refining heavyweight to a diversified giant shaping India’s digital, retail, and energy future, RIL continues to push boundaries.
Whether it is through Jio’s digital disruption, Retail’s hyper-growth, or the green energy leap, Reliance is positioning itself as a key player in India’s emergence as a global economic force. Investors, analysts, and business leaders worldwide continue to watch journey with great interest—and for good reason.
As India enters a new era of technological and sustainable development, Reliance will likely remain at the forefront—innovating, scaling, and leading.