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Jio propels Mukesh Ambani to 13th spot in Forbes’ billionaire list
New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) The phenomenal growth of Reliance Jio, backed by its ultra-cheap data plans that has transformed the telecom scenario in India, has helped Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani move six places up to rank 13th in US magazine Forbes’ “World’s Billionaire list 2019”.
Mukesh Ambani is now worth $50 billion — up from $40.1 billion in 2018 when he was at the 19th spot on the billionaires’ list.
“Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $60 billion (revenue) oil and gas giant Reliance Industries, among India’s most valuable companies,” Forbes said.
“In 2016, Reliance sparked a price war in India’s hyper-competitive telecom market with the launch of 4G phone service Jio. Jio has signed on 280 million customers by offering free domestic voice calls, dirt-cheap data services and virtually free smartphones,” the magazine added.
Others in the top-100 billionaires’ list include Wipro Chairman Azim Premji at rank 36th, followed by HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar at 82nd spot and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal at 91st position.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continued to remain the world’s richest man with a net worth of $131 billion, followed by Bill Gates at $96.5 billion and Warren Buffett at $82.5 billion.
Riding on the popularity of ultra-cheap data packs offered by Reliance Jio, which has amassed 28 crore subscribers in a short time, India has emerged as the country that provides mobile data at the lowest rate in the world.
Indians pay on an average Rs 18 for one gigabyte (GB) of data against a global average of Rs 600, showed research by price comparison site Cable.co.uk.
Reliance Jio also topped in terms of 4G availability among the telecom service providers with 98.8 per cent availability during the second half of 2018, according to an Ookla report.
Over the next 12 months, Reliance Jio is expected to reach the top position on both subscriber and service revenue metrics, and it expects to surpass the Vodafone Idea service revenues in the fiscal 2019-20, according to a report by Bernstein.
Mukesh Ambani also recently became the first Indian to enter the global top 10 richest billionaire list complied by Hurun Research.
According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2019, Ambani broke into the top 10 in the world for the first time after a $9 billion, or 20 per cent, surge in his wealth to $54 billion.
“The only Asian in the Top 10, Ambani’s wealth is based on telecom, retail and energy, and bucked the poor stock market trend in India last year,” said Hurun Research.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.