Patna : A couple of days ago, I had said that while everybody thinks that India is reeling under the severe impact of CORONA crisis, many indicators are appearing everyday which point towards the emergence of a new – more dynamic, more focused and more determined – India. I had also said that attention must be paid to these indicators.
Today we have the news of a major indicator appearing. This is the Reliance Jio – Facebook deal. A deal in which Facebook is going to buy 9.99 percent stake in Reliance Jio Platforms at approximately Rs 43,574 crore. This puts the enterprise value of Reliance Jio Platforms approximately at $65.95 bn or Rs 4.62 lakh crore.
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has thanked Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani for the deal. He has said that this deal underscores the commitment of Facebook to India and its excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country.
Facebook has said that its goal is to enable new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, but especially for the more than 60 million small businesses across India.
Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani has said that the deal is a step towards fulfilling the dream of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of transforming India into a digital society and digital economy. He said that the Prime Minister had envisaged Ease of living for all Indians, especially for the common man. The PM had also envisaged Ease of doing business for all Indian enterprises, especially the small businesses.
Mukesh Ambani further said that Reliance Retail, Jio Platforms, and Facebook’s WhatsApp service are also going to accelerate Reliance Retail’s new commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support millions of small businesses on WhatsApp.
Reliance Jio Platforms – Facebook deal is probably the largest FDI in the Indian technology sector. It is just the beginning of the recognition of India as one of the greatest business destinations in the post -COVID world. It augurs well for the Indian economy.