Reliance Industries facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Reliance Industries Limited

Formerly	Reliance Commercial Corporation (1958–1966) Reliance Textiles and Engineers (1966–1973)
Type	Public
Traded as	BSE: 500325 NSE: RELIANCE LSE: RIGD BSE SENSEX constituent NSE NIFTY 50 constituent
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=INE002A01018 INE002A01018]
Industry	Conglomerate
Founded	1958; 67 years ago (1958)
Founder	Dhirubhai Ambani
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra , India
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Mukesh Ambani (Chairman & Managing Director)
Products	Petroleum Natural gas Chemical Petrochemical Oil refining Retail Telecommunications Media Entertainment
Revenue	₹9.98 lakh crore (US$170 billion) (2025)
Operating income	₹1.83 lakh crore (US$31 billion) (2025)
Net income	₹81,309 crore (US$14 billion) (2025)
Total assets	₹19.50 lakh crore (US$330 billion) (2025)
Total equity	₹10.09 lakh crore (US$170 billion) (2025)
Owner	Ambani family (51%)
Number of employees	347,362 (2024)
Subsidiaries	List Jio Platforms (67.03%) Reliance Retail Jio-bp (51%) JioStar (16.34%) Viacom18 (84.07%) Network18 Group (56.89%) DEN Networks (78.62%) Hathway (71.95%) Alok Industries (75%) Reliance Foundation Indiawin Sports Relicord Reliance Institute of Life Sciences Reliance Industrial Infrastructure (45.43%) Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Reliance New Energy Ltd. Sikka Ports & Terminals Limited Renewable Energy Corporation
Footnotes / references Financials as of 31 March  2025 (2025 -03-31)[update].

Reliance Industries Limited is a very large Indian company. It is based in Mumbai, India. This company does many different things. It works in areas like energy, making chemicals, and selling things in stores. It also deals with natural gas, entertainment, and phone services.

Reliance is the biggest public company in India. This is based on how much money it makes and its total value. It is also one of the largest companies in the world. Reliance pays a lot of taxes in India. It is also India's biggest exporter, sending goods to other countries.

Company History

How Reliance Started (1958–1985)

Stamp released in 2002 to honor company founder Dhirubhai Ambani

Reliance Commercial Corporation began in 1958. It was started by Dhirubhai Ambani. At first, it was a small business. It traded goods like spices and polyester yarn. In 1965, the partnership ended. Dhirubhai continued the polyester business.

In 1966, the company became Reliance Textiles Industries Pvt. Ltd. It built a factory for making synthetic fabrics in Naroda, Gujarat. On May 8, 1973, its name changed to Reliance Textiles Industries Limited. By 1975, the company grew into textiles. "Vimal" became a very popular brand.

The company offered its shares to the public in 1977. This is called an initial public offering (IPO). Many people wanted to buy shares. In 1979, another textile company joined Reliance. In 1980, Reliance expanded its polyester yarn business. It built a new plant in Patalganga, Maharashtra. This was done with help from a U.S. company.

Growing Bigger (1981–2000)

In 1985, the company's name changed again. It became Reliance Industries Ltd. From 1985 to 1992, the company greatly increased its ability to make polyester yarn.

A large chemical plant in Hazira started working in 1991–92. In 1993, Reliance raised money from other countries. They did this by selling special shares called global depository receipts. By 1996, Reliance was the first private company in India to get ratings from international agencies. These ratings showed how financially strong the company was.

In 1995/96, Reliance started in the telecommunications industry. They partnered with a U.S. company called NYNEX. They created Reliance Telecom Private Limited. In 1998, Reliance took over another big chemical company. This happened during the privatization of government-owned businesses.

In 1998/99, Reliance started selling packaged cooking gas. It was in 15 kg cylinders. The brand name was Reliance Gas. From 1998 to 2000, Reliance built a huge oil refinery. This was in Jamnagar, Gujarat. It became the largest refinery in the world.

Recent Developments (2001 onwards)

By 2001, Reliance Industries Ltd. and Reliance Petroleum Ltd. were India's two largest companies. In 2001–02, Reliance Petroleum joined with Reliance Industries.

In 2002, Reliance found a huge amount of natural gas. This was in the Krishna Godavari basin. It was one of the biggest gas discoveries in the world that year. This was the first time an Indian private company made such a big discovery.

In 2002–03, Reliance bought most of another chemical company, IPCL. Reliance then merged IPCL with itself in 2008. In 2005 and 2006, the company changed how its businesses were organized. It separated its power, financial, and telecom services into new companies.

In 2006, Reliance started its retail business in India. They opened stores called 'Reliance Fresh'. By 2008, Reliance Retail had almost 600 stores. These stores were in 57 cities across India.

In November 2009, Reliance Industries gave extra shares to its shareholders. In 2010, Reliance entered the internet services market. They bought a company that won the bid for 4G internet services across India.

Also in 2010, Reliance and BP (a big energy company) formed a partnership. BP bought a 30% share in 23 oil and gas projects in India. Reliance and BP also created a joint company. This company buys and sells gas in India.

In 2017, Reliance started a joint company with a Russian firm. They built a plant in Jamnagar to make a type of rubber. In August 2019, Reliance bought Fynd. This helped its consumer and mobile phone services in online shopping.

In February 2024, Reliance Industries and The BharatGPT Group announced a new project. They launched a large AI system called Hanuman's AI system in March 2024. This system works in 11 local languages. It helps in health, government, financial services, and education.

Also in February 2024, Reliance and The Walt Disney Company announced a big deal. They merged their streaming and TV businesses. This deal was completed in November 2024. The new company is called Disney Star.

In October 2024, Reliance made a deal with Nvidia. They will get special computer chips for a new data center in Jamnagar. On June 3, 2025, it was reported that Reliance Industries' Jai Ammunition Limited is part of an Indian Army project. They are making artillery shells in India. This helps reduce the need for foreign supplies. Tests for these shells have been ongoing for two years. Final tests are planned for November 2025. After that, large orders could be placed.

Who Owns Reliance?

Reliance Industries has about 6.44 billion shares. The Ambani family, who started the company, owns about 50.39% of these shares. The rest are owned by public shareholders. This includes foreign investors and other companies. Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest non-family investor. It owns 6.49% of the shares.

In January 2012, the company announced it would buy back some of its own shares. By January 2013, it had bought back 46.2 million shares.

Where Reliance Shares Are Listed

The company's shares are listed on India's main stock exchanges. These are the National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange. Special shares called Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) are listed on the London Stock Exchange. About 3.46% of its shares are also listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Reliance's debt securities are listed on the National Stock Exchange. The company has received high credit ratings. These ratings show that the company is financially strong.

On December 28, 2017, Reliance Industries announced it would buy the wireless business of Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications. This deal was worth about ₹23,000 crores.

What Reliance Does

The main parts of Reliance's business are making chemicals, refining oil, and dealing with oil and gas. Other parts of the company include textiles, retail stores, phone services, and developing special economic zones.

In July 2012, Reliance said it would invest $1 billion in a new aerospace division. This division would design and make parts for military and civilian aircraft. In July 2024, Reliance Industries got permission from the United States to start importing oil from Venezuela again.

As of 2024, the company had over 200 smaller companies it owned. It also had more than 15 partner companies. In the financial year 2024, 65% of its sales were in India. The other 35% were from outside India.

Financial Information

Reliance Companies

Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms Limited is a technology company. Reliance Industries owns most of it. It is worth over $100 billion. This company was created in October 2019. It brought together all of Reliance's digital and telecom businesses. This includes Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which handles mobile and internet services. It also includes Jio Apps and other tech investments.

In April 2020, Facebook invested a lot of money in Jio Platforms. This gave Facebook a 9.99% ownership stake. In May 2020, another American investor, Silver Lake Partners, also invested. Intel became the 12th company to invest in Jio Platforms. By July 2020, Google also bought a 7.7% stake. In 2022, Mukesh Ambani's son, Akash Mukesh Ambani, became the chairperson of Jio.

Reliance Retail

Reliance Retail is the part of Reliance Industries that handles retail stores. In March 2013, it had 1466 stores in India. It is the biggest retailer in India. Many well-known brands are part of Reliance Retail. These include Reliance Fresh, Reliance Digital, and Reliance Trends. Its market value is over $60 billion. In 2022, Mukesh Ambani's daughter, Isha Ambani Piramal, took over as chairperson of Reliance Retail.

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure

Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited (RIIL) is a partner company of Reliance Industries. It started in 1988. Its main goal was to build and run pipelines for moving petroleum products. Now, RIIL mainly sets up and runs industrial buildings and systems. It also leases equipment and provides computer software services.

Network18 Group

Between 2011 and 2014, Reliance bought most of the Network18 Group. Through Network18, Reliance owns many news channels. These include CNN-News18 and News18 India.

Network18 is a large media company. It works in television, digital platforms, and publishing. It also has two joint companies: Viacom18 and History TV18. It also bought part of ETV Network. Its channels are now under the Colors TV brand.

Other Companies and Ventures

• Reliance Global Corporate Security is a private security company. It protects all of Reliance Industries' properties. Its team includes former military and police members.
• Reliance Life Sciences works on medical and plant biotechnology. It makes and sells products in areas like medicines, clinical research, and biofuels.
• Embibe is an education technology company. Reliance Industries has invested a lot of money in it. Embibe also bought other education companies like Funtoot and OnlineTyari.
• Reliance Logistics is a company that helps with transportation and storage. It has its own vehicles and facilities. It provides services to Reliance companies and others.
• Reliance Solar focuses on solar energy. It sells solar lanterns, home lighting systems, and other solar products. In 2022, Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant Ambani, took charge of the new energy business.
• Reliance Eros Productions LLP is a joint company with Eros International. They produce films in India.
• Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL) provides financial services. It invests in other companies. RIIHL bought stakes in a logistics firm and a software company. It also helped buy a large part of Jio's tower assets. In April 2021, RIIHL bought Stoke Park Ltd. This company owns sports and leisure facilities in England.
• Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL) invests in new technologies. It bought stakes in robotics and AI companies like Asteria Aerospace and NowFloats Technologies. It also owns part of The Oberoi Group, a luxury hotel chain. RSBVL has also invested in SkyTran Inc.
• Reliance Sibur is a joint company between Reliance Industries and Sibur. They make synthetic rubber.
• Relicord is a cord blood banking service. It stores umbilical cord blood for future medical use.
• Reliance Institute of Life Sciences (RILS) offers higher education in life sciences.
• Reliance Clinical Research Services (RCRS) helps pharmaceutical and medical device companies with clinical research.
• LYF is a brand of 4G-enabled phones from Reliance Retail.
• Indiawin Sports Pvt. Ltd. owns the Mumbai Indians cricket teams. These include the men's team in the Indian Premier League and the women's team. They also own teams in other leagues around the world.

Former Holdings

In March 2017, Reliance Industries sold its share in an oil retailer in Mauritius called Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp (GAPCO). The East West Gas Pipeline (India) was bought by another company for ₹13,000 crores.

Awards and Recognition

• Reliance was named the International Refiner of the Year in 2017 and 2013. This was for its Jamnagar Refinery.
• The Brand Trust Report ranked Reliance Industries as one of the most trusted brands in India. It was 7th in 2013 and 9th in 2014.
• In March 2012, Reliance was certified as a 'Responsible Care Company'.
• In 2012, Reliance was ranked 25th globally among chemical companies based on sales.
• Reliance received the National Golden Peacock Award in 2011. This was for its work in corporate sustainability.
• In 2009, Boston Consulting Group named Reliance Industries as the world's fifth best 'sustainable value creator'.
• The company was chosen as one of the world's 100 best managed companies in 2000.
• From 1994 to 1997, the company won the National Energy Conservation Award.

See also

• List of companies of India
• Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex
• Reliance Group
• Dhirubhai Ambani