 "Reliance Jio seeks to connect with youth")
In a bid to connect with country’s young population, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has positioned Jio as a young company, which aims to enable young people to be digitally connected by providing them affordable and unlimited network access.
Like a proud father, he said his 24-year-old twins -- Isha and Akash -- are directors on the Jio and have been hands-on leaders. The average age of Jio is 30 years and his two children, he said, represent the large contingent of young professionals within the company.
Like a proud father, he said his 24-year-old twins -- Isha and Akash -- are directors on the Jio and have been hands-on leaders. The average age of Jio is 30 years and his two children, he said, represent the large contingent of young professionals within the company.
“Jio is a creation of young, by the young, and for the young,” said Ambani while addressing 39th Annual General Meeting on Thursday. “At present, average age at Jio is 30 years.” Ambani’s children, Akash and Isha, both 24, have joined Jio as the directors. Jio currently has 60,000 employees across India. “I want to tell all our young people at Jio: Jio is what it is today because of your passion, ownership and an attitude of ‘can do’,” he said.
At present, India’s average is 25, with more than 50 per cent of its population below the age of 25, and more than 65 per cent below the age of 35. By 2020, the average age of an Indian is expected to be 29 years. Jio, on Thursday, opened up its full bouquet of its services, including data, voice and video, for free for all customers starting September 5 till December 31,
Ambani challenged the Jio team to acquire 100 million customers on Jio network, in the shortest possible time. The company expects 100 million users to translate into the data usage of 250 crore GB a month. Sharpening its focus on students, the company has come out with special offer for them which will enable them to get 25 per cent more data on Jio’s main tariffs.
“Students of today are the knowledge-workers of tomorrow, and in their success lies India’s ability to fulfill its digital destiny,” he said. “They need access to data and digital services to hone their competitive edge, and to compete in the connected global market place.”
The company is currently in process of connecting 30,000 schools and colleges across the country with WiFi to provide broadband wireless data access to students in classrooms.
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Meanwhile, to tap the startup ecosystem, Jio has set aside Rs. 5000 crore venture fund, to be invested over next 5 years. The company is also in process of creating digital entrepreneurship hubs in key cities and towns of India.“This will help young entrepreneurs to build their business from ground up,” he said.
Ambani said given the opportunity, Indian youth can achieve the impossible and be better than anybody in the world.