From Textiles to Technology: The Evolution of Reliance Industries into India’s Most Profitable Syndicate🏭🛢️📶

🏭Humble Roots In Naroda
In 1973, a newly-incorporated Reliance Industries Limited established a state-of-the-art polyester plant in Naroda, Gujarat, under the leadership of Dhirubai Ambani. The profit for that year stood out at ₹1.55 crore. Cut to 2023, Reliance Industries makes ₹1.67 crore in revenue an hour. Since Mukesh Ambani, son of the late founder, took over the reins of the multinational conglomerate after the sudden demise of the founder, Reliance Industries has seen its revenue jump 17 times and a 20-fold jump in profits.

The success of Reliance Industries is not like any other; decades of progress and consistency led to a textile firm becoming the largest conglomerate in India, in terms of market capitalisation. Although Reliance Industries has maintained its position as one of the top companies in India since its inception, some of the major developments in the company came about during the 2000s, alongside the global technological revolution.

Born with an investment of ₹50 crore and about 60,000 shareholders, a pivotal moment for Reliance Industries was in 2000, when the company turned to hydrocarbons. In 2004, it became the first Indian private company to be listed among the Fortune 500 companies.

🔀 Sibling Rivalry—the Feud for the Throne
While Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani were to assume joint leadership of RIL, the two brothers conflicted over the control of the group which led to a demerger.

Diversification stood at the heart of RIL’s objectives after Dhirubai Ambani’s passing and subsequent feud. In two decades, Reliance Industries broke new ground in several operations, including retail in 2006, new energy in 2021, and the most successful venture of them all telecom with the launch of Reliance Jio in 2016. Additionally, the multinational conglomerate was involved in scaling its existing oil and petrochemicals business which came under Mukesh Ambani’s purview following the demerger.

🥇Unparalleled Industry Giants
In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, Reliance Industries set a record for capital fundraising, collecting more than ₹2.5 lakh crore, owing to the rights issue and sale of minority stakes to prominent investors such as Facebook and Google.

Today, it stands proud as India’s most profitable company and a leading contributor to the country’s exports and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).