RELENTLESS MAVERICK, GIANT BETS

RIL'S GAMEPLAN: DOUBLING DOWN ON DIGITAL, RETAIL, AND GREEN ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE HYPER-GROWTH.

- BY NEVIN JOHN

"RIL WILL CONTINUE its stellar track record of doubling every 4–5 years," chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said following the Q1FY26 results. He has demonstrated this repeatedly in the past. The crude-to-cloud conglomerate doubled its operational revenue to ₹9.6 lakh crore over the past four financial years (FY21–25), while profit surged 51.3% to ₹81,309 crore, driven largely by the rapid expansion of Reliance Retail outlets and the nationwide rollout of 5G services.

To double the top line and cash flows, business houses need to unlock new revenue streams periodically. RIL previously proved it between FY06 and FY10, when it launched a second refinery, entered the retail space, and developed hydrocarbon assets in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin. Post-Covid (FY21 onwards), new businesses—telecom and retail—propelled RIL's top line. With 20,000 retail stores and 200 million 5G telecom users, RIL is a formidable force in both sectors.

Ambani's fearless and relentless risk-taking puts him at the top of India's billionaire rankings with a wealth of ₹9,49,688 crore ($110.74 billion) as on June 30, 2025, according to the 2025 Fortune India-Waterfield Advisors study of India's Top 100 Billionaires.

In fact, building Jio was one of the most capital-intensive ventures that India had ever seen. RIL invested about ₹3 lakh crore to establish 4G and 5G networks and the digital services infrastructure for Jio, which will complete nine years of operations in September 2025. The bold investment in digital infrastructure was mirrored in Reliance's retail ambitions as well. Although launched in 2006, the retail business matured in the past decade through store additions, portfolio expansion, and the creation of an omnichannel platform.