On Monday, Mukesh Ambani set the stage for a new chapter in the leadership of Reliance Industries as he appointed his three children to the conglomerate’s board, among other key announcements at RIL’s 46th annual general meeting.

The appointment of Isha, Akash, and Anant Ambani as “non-executive directors of the company” was approved by RIL’s board ahead of the AGM on Monday. They will assume their roles after getting shareholders’ nod. Mukesh Ambani had first spoken about a leadership transition in December 2021. The latest announcement marks the beginning of this succession plan.

“Today I see both my father and me in Isha, Akash, and Anant. I see the flame of Dhirubhai shine in all of them. They have fully internalised the founder’s mindset,” Mukesh Ambani said at the AGM. Ambani will continue to stay on as chairman and managing director for the next five years. In the first week of August, the conglomerate had sought shareholders’ approval to allow him another term as CMD. According to the corporate affairs ministry, the appointment of directors of public companies who are beyond 70 years of age requires a special resolution by shareholders. Ambani will turn 70 in 2027.

Nita Ambani—Mukesh Ambani’s wife—has stepped down from RIL’s board as a non-executive director to devote more of her time to Reliance Foundation, the company’s charity arm.

Eyes on next generation: Akash, the eldest son, took over as chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm—a subsidiary of Jio Platforms—in July last year. He is also on the board of Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail (since October 2014).

Isha, Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, leads Reliance Retail Ventures, the conglomerate’s retail arm. A Yale University graduate, she was also named a non-executive director at Jio Financial Services, the recently demerged financial services arm of RIL.

Anant, the youngest, serves as a director on various boards—Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail, Reliance New Energy, Reliance New Energy Solar and Reliance Foundation.

Moving on to other highlights of the AGM.

Jio Financial Services: Mukesh Ambani announced that the recently demerged financial services arm of RIL will venture into insurance, offering life, general and health coverage.

The company aims to partner with global players and use predictive data analytics to develop tailored products. “JFS products will not just compete with current industry benchmarks but also explore path-breaking features such as blockchain-based platforms and [central bank digital currency],” he added.

He also said that Jio Financial has joined hands with asset manager BlackRock to create an asset management business.

The ‘new energy ecosystem’: Another key area of focus was Reliance’s strategy for the energy sector. Ambani reiterated the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate’s plans to develop an end-to-end renewable energy ecosystem as it aims to turn net-zero by 2035. These plans were originally laid out at Reliance’s 45th AGM last year, with a Rs 75,000 crore capital pledge towards this initiative. Monday’s AGM did not offer new details or fresh investment announcements.

Ambani said Reliance was on its way to create the “new energy ecosystem”—the development of manufacturing capabilities for solar, wind, battery storage, hydrogen and bio-energy platforms.

A key aspect of this initiative involves speeding up the execution of the giga manufacturing complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The priority, Ambani said, is to build a factory to develop solar PV modules, cells, wafers, ingots, polysilicon and glass. The facility, set to become operational in a phased manner by the end of 2025, leverages Reliance New Energy Solar’s acquisition of Norway-based REC Solar in 2021.

He also noted that Reliance will pursue wind power generation and use carbon fibre for wind blades, which will help reduce costs of wind projects. At the AGM last year, Ambani had announced plans to build India’s first, and one of the world’s largest, carbon fibre plants at Hazira, Gujarat.

These plans will help enable installation of at least 100 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030, he said.

Another priority is to set up a battery manufacturing plant by 2026, with an “integrated ecosystem”, which covers everything from manufacturing and energy storage solutions to battery recycling.

On green hydrogen, Ambani said that Reliance aims to establish an electrolyzer manufacturing facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat. However, specific dates for the plan have not been disclosed. Additionally, Reliance plans to set up 100 compressed biogas plants in the next five years to reduce LNG imports.

Other key updates: Akash Ambani unveiled Jio Smart Home Services, offering seamless control of home appliances. Jio Smart Home is supported by Reliance Jio’s in-house broadband offerings (JioFiber and JioAirFiber). The smart home solution features Jio’s own set-top box, home router, a smart home app allowing remote controls and home security cameras.

Additionally, Jio will launch JioAirFiber internet services on 19 September. The internet service uses the company’s 5G network and wireless technologies.

Reliance also introduced the Jio True 5G developer program, which combines 5G network, edge computing with other applications and services. Edge computing brings computation and data storage closer to the source, enabling faster responses.

Additionally, Jio introduced its flagship Rs 999 Jio Bharat 4G phone. The budget-friendly device has smartphone-like features and allows UPI payments. With this, Reliance is aiming a shift from 2G feature phones to eliminate a “digital divide”.

Another major highlight was the focus on artificial intelligence. The conglomerate is aiming to create 2,000 MW of AI-ready computing capacity.

“A global AI revolution is reshaping the world around us. Jio Platforms wants to lead in developing India-specific AI models and AI-powered solutions across domains, thereby delivering benefit of AI to Indians, businesses and government”, Ambani said, pledging “AI to everyone, everywhere”.