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Jio-Facebook deal would change India's digital economy

Social media giant Facebook’s investment in Jio Platforms has the potential to transform India’s retail landscape by combining easy digital payments with seamless social media connectivity. This is due to the synergies between two groups, which are individually dominant in different spaces. Jio Platforms is the holding company of all the digital properties of the Mukesh Ambani–controlled Reliance Industries (RIL) group, including telecom service provider Jio Infocomm. Facebook owns WhatsApp and Instagram, along with its eponymous social network. Jio has 388 million subscribers, comprising well over 50 per cent of India’s 635 million mobile broadband users. Facebook has 330 million