- Mukesh Ambani says the project is close to his heart
- Ambani also announced an additional Rs 20,000-crore investment for West Bengal over the next three years
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
KOLKATA, NOV 21
Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, on Tuesday, announced that Reliance Foundation has taken up an ambitious project to renovate and restore the Kalighat temple in Kolkata.
Speaking at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS 2023), he said, “We are in the process of repairing the entire temple complex, including the centuries old heritage structures and restoring the same to their original glory.”
The Reliance chairman said the project is close to his heart.
“Today, from this podium, let me assure you that Reliance will leave no stone unturned to accelerate Bengal’s growth. Bengal has been one of the largest investment destinations for Reliance. After you invited me, Reliance has invested close to ₹45,000 crores in West Bengal. Today, I am happy to announce that we plan to invest an additional ₹20,000 crores in the next three years,” Ambani said at the event.
Ambani added that RIL’s fresh investment will be in the areas of digital life solutions, retail, and bio-energy.
Jio has covered most parts of Bengal, said Ambani, while also adding that “We are taking the revolutionary power of 5G to every nook and corner of the state, particularly to enrich and transform rural Bengal. With our rapid rollout of Jio Fibre and Air Fibre, every home in Bengal will be converted into smart homes very soon. With this, Bengal will be able to use Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and other disruptive technologies to modernise every sector of its economy.”
On Reliance Retail’s increasing footprint in the state, RIL chairman and MD said, “Our retail business is supporting hundreds of MSMEs. We are bringing national fame to many regional brands of Bengal. For example, we have partnered with Prabhuji, Mukharochak, City Gold, Bisk Farm and others and provided them an unprecedented distribution reach all over India. Furthermore, thanks to Jio Mart, 5.50 lakh kirana merchants in the State have been brought under the umbrella of modern organised retail, bringing them higher productivity, income and benefits of scale. We currently operate nearly 20 lakh square foot of warehouses in Bengal. And this will increase manifold.”
The focus sectors at the two-day BGBS 2023 are MSME, textiles, engineering, energy, transport and urban infrastructure, real estate, agriculture, tourism and international trade and logistics. The participating countries include the US, UK, Japan, Poland, France, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji.
