Reliance Industries to invest Rs 5,000 crore in Bengal

NEW DELHI: At Bengal Global Business Summit 2018, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said his group would invest Rs 5,000 crore in Jio and the entire digital eco-system, Retail and Petro-retail in the next few years.nnThe company has already invested about Rs 15,000 crore in the telecom business in the state although it had earlier committed to invest Rs 4,500 crore.nnImportant announcements from Ambani, are..nnFirstly, our current Jio network covers 1,000 towns and nearly 39,000 villages in the state?nnAlmost 98% of Bengal?s population.nnI am happy to announce today that Jio will reach 100% of Bengal?s population before the end of 2018.nnSecondly, we are embarking on an ambitious project of connecting Bengal with Optic Fibre.nnIt will bring superior digital services to every home?nnTransform every home in Bengal into a SMART HOME.nnAnd I assure this august gathering that Jio will connect every single educational institution and every single hospital in Bengal within the next two years.nnThirdly, Reliance is also setting up Digital Service Centres across India to bring Government to Citizen (G2C) services within easy reach of every citizen, particularly in the rural hinterland.nnI am happy to announce that with the support of the State Government, we will launch this initiative in five districts of Bengal with immediate effect.nnIt will give birth to digital entrepreneurs in villages and small towns?nnKick-start e-commerce, and support agriculture, as well as small andnnmedium enterprises…nnCreate employment and wealth-generating opportunities in both Rural and Urban Bengal.nnFourthly, we shall be working with multiple partners to explore setting up next generation state-of-the-art electronics manufacturing facilities and make West Bengal the hub for innovation and hi-tech technologies fornnconsumer devices such as mobile phones, set-top boxes, and other devices.nnMy fifth announcement pertains to JioPhone.nnSince launch, the JioPhone has become the center of innovation world- over.nnThe JioPhone which is available at EFFECTIVELY ZERO COST to the consumer has received a rousing welcome from across West Bengal.nnJioPhone is now fully available across West Bengal.nnThe JioPhone will make everyone embrace the digital ecosystem without any digital divide.nnFriends,nnSixthly, Bengal has always been the cradle of super-intelligent people.nnThe state has produced world-renowned scientists like Dr Satyendra Nath Bose, whose 125th birth anniversary celebrations have begun this year.nnThe Bose-Einstein collaboration is one of the cornerstones of Quantum Physics.nnI announce with great pride that Jio will set up a Chair in the honour of Dr Bose in a prestigious university in Bengal.nnSeventhly, we want to empower small retailers with digital tools that help them enjoy the benefits of connecting with their entire chain of suppliers to customers.nnThese tools will help them do their business more efficiently, grow faster, improve supply chain efficiencies and increase customer satisfaction.nnOur state-of-the-art cloud-based POS solution will enable digital billing and payments, loyalty, GST compliance and supplier management.nnThis will bring efficiencies in the entire ecosystem, comprising of brands, distributors, merchants and consumers.nnWe will be creating this set of digital tools and roll them out to the small retailers over the next two years.nnAnd my eighth and final announcement, we are committing to invest another Rs. 5,000 crore in Jio and the entire digital eco-system, Retail and Petro-retail in the next few years.nnIn the last few years, Bengal has showered so much of love and affection for Reliance and Jio.nnWe will always be reliable partners in Bengal?s growth agenda.nnWe will be committed in making Bengal, once again, one of the leading states in the country.nnWe will work with everyone to contribute to making West Bengal truly Best Bengal.nn