Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that Jio is currently building the world's best Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure in India. Speaking at the 8th Bengal Global Business Summit, the RIL chairman emphasised that artificial intelligence is indispensable for India's transformation into a deep-tech nation with advanced manufacturing capabilities.
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RIL Investments in West Bengal
Speaking at the Summit, RIL chairman said, "Your state has a special advantage, because Bengal has always been a land of highly intelligent people. When natural intelligence is enhanced by the capabilities of artificial intelligence, there is no way that Bengal can fail, and no power on Earth can stop Bengal's resurgence.
Distinguished friends, Reliance's commitment to Bengal's all-around development remains unwavering. In 2016, when I first attended this summit, Reliance's investment stood below Rs 2,000 crores. Today, in less than a decade, our investments in Bengal have increased 20 times, and we are invested over Rs 50,000 crores. Mamata Didi, we will double this investment by the end of this decade. More importantly, our investments have created over 1 lakh direct jobs and spurred significant economic growth in West Bengal."
Jio's Digital Revolution: A Journey from Kolkata
The chairman said, "Back in 2016, Jio launched its commercial operations from Kolkata, the City of Joy. This auspicious launch has proved Didi very lucky for us. It not only triggered a digital revolution across India but also transformed India into a digital superpower.
"Today, Jio is not just the number one digital services provider or data company in India—it is the number one data company in the world. And it all started from Kolkata."
Kolkata Leads in Data Consumption on Jio’s Network
"By the end of 2023, Jio completed the fastest transnational 5G rollout in the world. Jio's network now covers 100 percent of Bengal's population," he added.
I am particularly thankful to the people and our customers in Kolkata city because they continue to maintain the record of the highest users of data in India on our Jio network. From the bottom of my heart, I express my gratitude to each and every citizen of Kolkata who uses Jio, the chairman added.
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Jio 5G Transforming Rural Bengal
I am also especially pleased to share that Jio has enriched and transformed rural Bengal. 5G has enabled school children and college students to access high-speed internet for their studies. Jio is beaming the world of entertainment and sports into every home and every smartphone.
Bengal's First CLS in Digha
As we speak, Jio is also building Bengal's first cable landing station (CLS) in Digha, ensuring direct fiber connectivity into West Bengal. It will be commissioned early next year and will serve as a gateway for Bengal’s digital leadership in eastern India, the chairman said.
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AI Infrastructure in India
He added that data centres are at the heart of AI infrastructure and announced that Reliance Jio's data centre in Kolkata will be a state-of-the-art AI-ready facility.
"It gives me great pleasure to announce today that we have modified our data centre in Kolkata to a state-of-the-art AI-ready data centre and that will be ready in the next 9 months," Mukesh Ambani said at the summit in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
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West Bengal’s Digital Future
He added that Jio's fully indigenous 5G stack coupled with the rapid rollout of Jio Fiber and Air Fiber will enable West Bengal to use AI, cloud computing and other disruptive technologies to modernise every sector of the state economy.
"This transformation will unleash new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to millions in Bengal," he said.
The RIL chairman expressed hope that Jio's AI infrastructure will also attract the best minds in Bengal's diaspora to return to the state and start new enterprises and professions in their home state.