What took West 300 years, China 30 years, India will achieve in just 10 years: Mukesh Ambani

Indian has potential to grow from a $2.25 trillion economy to $6 trillion economy in the next decade, chairman and managing director of India’s most valued firm Reliance Industries said at the company’s 40th annual general meeting on Friday.

During the meeting, where the company announced the launch of much-awaited 4G feature phone, Ambani said, “What took the West 300 years and China 30 years, India can achieve in just about a decade or two.”

“Reliance is enthusiastically ready to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will bring about the most disruptive changes in the Indian and global economy in the coming decades,” Ambani said.

He also said that the country should aspire to become one of the three largest economies in the world by the time it turns 80. India will celebrate its 80th Independence Day in 2027.

Ambani was also confident of Reliance’s growth over the next 10 years and said that the firm’s contribution to the Indian economy will surpass what it has achieved in the past 40 years.

The company said that it was the highest income tax payer in the private sector in India and paid Rs 8,880 crore during the last year. RIL paid Rs 29,637 crore in customs and excise duty during the year, almost 5 per cent of India's total, the company claimed.

Reliance Industries also surprised many by announcing bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.

Among other key announcements, the country’s richest man also announced the launch JioPhone, offering life-long free voice calls bundled with 4G data streaming at an “effective price of zero”.

The JioPhone will be available for user testing in beta mode from August 15 and for pre-booking from August 24. Reliance Jio will provide unlimited data on the phone for Rs 153 per month. The telecom firm already has 125 million users since its launch in September last year.