Mukesh Ambani Says Telecom Companies Ragging Jio; Praises Modi, Nilekani And Arnab

It's hard to imagine Mukesh Ambani being ragged. But he claims he was in college, using the experience as an analogy for what's going on in the telecommunications sector today.

Ambani was speaking to veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta in an 'Off The Cuff' series conversation, with a capacity audience in attendance on Monday evening at a South Mumbai hotel. Gupta asked him about the standoff between Ambani's new telecom venture Reliance Jio and incumbent telecom players Airtel, Vodafone and Idea. Jio has accused its competition of not providing interconnect facilities, due to which Jio consumers are unable to make calls. The incumbent players deny the allegations.

Ambani responded by likening it to the ragging experience of his youth.

The almost two-hour-long conversation moved from Ambani's view of the evolution of human life and technology, to the business of energy, telecom and Reliance Jio, India's youth and politics. Ambani shared personal experiences, his business vision and his support for the Narendra Modi government.

The Birth Of Jio

When Gupta asked Ambani about his Rs 1.5 lakh crore 'punt' on the telecom business, he responded by saying, "It's not a punt" and then corrected Gupta. "It's not Rs 1.5 lakh crore, it's Rs 2.5 lakh crore," Ambani said before elaborating on India's need for a digital revolution and the business case for Jio.

Later on, a question from an audience member prompted Ambani to recall why he decided to re-enter the telecom business. He recounted how his young daughter Isha, home from Yale, complained about the poor internet speeds at the Ambani household (yes, it seems the Ambani's suffer the same problem as the rest of us mere mortals). Soon after, his son Akash doubted Reliance's ability to fully understand the a changing telecom business model based on communication needs of newer generations. Ambani recalled his son saying – "You don't get it. Your generation makes money when someone makes a call and if someone answers it and talks. Our generation talks to servers. We don't have to wait till somebody decides to answer."

The Power Of Algae

On the energy business, Ambani answered a specific question regarding oil prices, in two parts.

He spoke enthusiastically about solar power and its potential and expressed confidence that soon better technology would be invented to scale solar power further.

His prophecies prompted a question from HPCL's chairman and managing director, Nishi Vasudeva, sitting in the audience. She wondered if Reliance intended to venture into solar power. Ambani said his team had been working for many years on plans to enter the renewable energy business. "We have a group of 600 people focused on this. And they are working on producing fuel using algae. We are already making a barrel a day at the Jamnagar facility," he added.

Gupta asked if Reliance Industries would soon be a more consumer business focused group and less an energy driven company. Ambani insisted that his company will continue to invest in the energy business, claiming that once the arbitration with the government was decided, both Reliance and British Petroleum would invest more money in mining gas from their fields in India.

Ambani The Politician

Doesn't politics in India need to change? asked an audience member. Will you be part of the change? he queried of Ambani. The response was brief and emphatic.

Another asked for Ambani's view of the government. "I think India is fortunate to have Narendrabhai as Prime Minister," said India's richest man, thereafter deftly sidestepping Gupta's question on allegations such as 'ye Ambani Adani ki sarkar hai'.

Ambani praised the ability of the Modi government to embrace projects that may not have been initiated by them – such as the unique identification program Aadhaar. Hailing the work done by Infosys founder and former CEO, Nandan Nilekani, in building Aadhaar, Ambani said it has put financial inclusion on the map.

Bet On The Youth

The one theme Ambani kept returning to was on youth and startups. "My father always treated me as a partner" Ambani said of Dhirubhai and his advise to work with young people and create opportunities for them. "The average age of Reliance Industries should be 30 years," he remembered the group's founder as saying.

He also commented on the diminishing life span of businesses, pointing to research putting it at 20 years now.

What Do You Watch At 9 PM?

There were a few references to Ambani's media business – two years ago Reliance Industries acquired the Network 18 Group. To a pointed question on independent media, internet bans and dropped interviews, Ambani offered a generic answer making press freedom everybody's interest and responsibility.

Interestingly, he ended the evening by picking competition over the television channels he owns. When asked for his views on 'noisy TV shows' and what shows he watches at 9 pm, Mukesh Ambani said, "I watch Arnab and I like him very much". Times Now is owned by Bennett Coleman and competes with Network 18's CNN News 18.

Watch the full interview with Mukesh Ambani here...

Off The Cuff, a media conversation with Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, ThePrint