RIL FY21 Annual Report: Big Tech Partnerships, New Startups In Portfolio, Digital Initiatives And More

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in its annual report  released on 2nd June, has emphasised upon the group’s focus and engagements with big tech companies and Indian startups. Here are some of the key takeaways from the report.

JioGenNext Startup Focus

The startup accelerator arm of RIL- JioGenNext added 22 startups to its ecosystem in FY21, said the report. The startups selected in two cohorts, of eleven companies each, include sectors like agritech, edtech, enterprise solutions and health and fitness. Selected startups in the first cohort include Aikaan, Dozee, LegistifyFreightBro, Gumlet, Patch, Taskmonk, Plutomen, Vadoo, Vicara and UptimeAI. The second cohort included startups like 30M Genomics, Aikenist, Dubverse, Embright, Enhance, HiPER, Krishitantra, LinearSquared, Rekord, RightBot and ZedBlox. 

The conglomerate said that its startup alumni have collectively raised over $270 Mn worth of funding till date. Many of these companies like Dozee, LogiNext, Health Vectors, Flybase, Clinikk, Drona Maps and Cab DOst also dedicated resources during the pandemic. 

Jio Platforms And Big Tech 

RIL said Jio Platforms (JPL) completed fundraising of INR 1,52,056 Cr from  13 global marquee investors. Other highlights mentioned in the annual report included completion of testing of indigenously developed end-to-end Jio 5G Radio and Core Network Solution for a self-sufficient and cost-effective rollout in the near future. Jio is accelerating the rollout of digital platforms and indigenously-developed next-generation 5G stack, RIL’s annual report has said, highlighting that India is at the forefront of the global digital revolution.

RIL also added that it is working with Microsoft to enhance adoption of leading technologies like data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive services, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The report also noted that strategic initiatives along with Facebook and Google will enhance consumer service offerings and facilitate greater digital inclusion in India.

Digital Rollouts Through FY21

RIL highlighted some interesting and lesser known rollouts through the year across JPL solutions during the previous fiscal. 

RIL said that Jio’s Government to Citizen (G2C) platform EasyGov has partnered with 350 central and state government welfare schemes (PAN card, caste certificate and income certificate) across PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (Government of India’s coronavirus relief scheme), 14 Mn eligibility checks for the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and other schemes for migrant labourers and farmers were carried out on the platform.

RIL also reported the pan-India rollout of JioUPI- BHIM UPI services on MyJio subscriber platform- during the year. As per NPCI data, UPI payments processed through Jio comprise a negligible part of the UPI ecosystem so far.

Within edtech, Jio has launched over 65 educational channels on JioTV, with national and state-specific content, in collaboration with the MHRD ( Ministry of Human Resource Development) , NCERT and seven state governments. Education-related podcasts across 1,100 titles are being streamed on JioSaavn. The Jio Set Top Box provides access to 21 education related applications. Further, Jio’s startup acquisition Embibe is also in advanced stages of product development, said RIL.

The JioPOS application was also launched during the year which provides an alternative channel for subscribers to recharge, purchase a new connection or port into the Jio network. This P2P recharging application has had a very healthy traction and minimised the impact of the lockdown on the recharge cycle of Jio subscribers.

Jio R&D Milestones

To date, Jio has been granted 371 patents across multiple jurisdictions. In FY 2020-21 alone, the company filed for 38 patents and was granted 40. Jio has infused over $50 Bn investment since its inception to create the largest and advanced digital and connectivity ecosystem in India, with a wide bouquet of apps and platform.

Among the key technology areas covered by the patents are Quantum Blockchain Network Technology, Deep Learning Applications in Health and Agriculture, and AI Industrial IoT Automation.