From free calls to India’s AI revolution: 5 highlights from RIL AGM 2025

When Mukesh Ambani took the stage at the Reliance Industries Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2025, it was not just another corporate address. It was, in many ways, a reflection on how a single idea, Jio, reshaped the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians and rewrote the global digital playbook.

Just a week from now, Jio will enter its 10th year of operations. In these ten years, it has grown from a new entrant battling legacy telecom giants to becoming India’s most significant digital services company with over 500 million customers. To put that in perspective, Jio today serves more people than the combined population of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

More than just a telecom operator, Jio has become synonymous with India’s digital revolution. It eliminated “digital poverty,” brought down data costs dramatically, and made connectivity a basic right rather than a privilege. At the AGM, Ambani called this milestone “the most glorious decade in India’s digital history,” and for good reason. Jio’s impact is visible in how Indians talk, transact, watch, learn, and increasingly, build.

This year’s AGM was as much about celebrating Jio’s journey so far as it was about setting the stage for what comes next. Here are the five biggest highlights that capture the scale of Jio’s transformation – from free voice calls to laying the foundation for an AI-powered future.

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Free calls that broke barriers

When Jio first launched in 2016, its announcement of free voice calls forever changed the Indian telecom landscape. Until then, high call rates often kept people from talking as freely as they wished. Calls across states or networks were costly, and rural communities in particular struggled with access.

Jio disrupted this model overnight by making voice calls free, anywhere in the country. What seemed almost unbelievable at the time quickly became the norm, forcing rivals to adapt. The result was a historic moment: connectivity stopped being a luxury and became a basic expectation.

This single move not only helped Jio gain millions of users almost instantly but also broke a barrier that had long held back communication in India. Families stayed in touch across distances, businesses could reach customers more easily, and the concept of “per minute call charges” soon faded into history.

For consumers, this was the first taste of Jio’s promise: to make digital life simple, affordable, and accessible to all.

Videos and payments in every pocket

If free voice calls got people talking, cheap and abundant data got them watching. Before Jio, video streaming on mobile phones was a privilege reserved for the few. Data packs were prohibitively expensive, and buffering was the norm. With Jio’s arrival, affordable data unleashed a cultural shift.

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Suddenly, watching videos on YouTube, OTT platforms, and even live sports became part of everyday life. The mobile phone transformed into the primary screen for millions of households. Entire generations of content creators, from YouTubers to Instagram influencers, emerged as digital consumption exploded.

But the impact didn’t stop at entertainment. Jio also made mobile payments mainstream. With cheap, reliable connectivity, millions of Indians began using apps for digital transactions, banking, and shopping. The adoption of UPI, one of the world’s most advanced real-time payment systems, was supercharged by Jio’s connectivity. Today, sending money digitally is as natural as sending a text, something that would have been unthinkable for the average Indian just a decade ago.

Ambani rightly pointed out at the AGM that Jio didn’t just provide a service; it changed consumer behavior. Watching videos and making payments on mobile phones is no longer novel – it’s habit.

The backbone of Digital India

India’s rise as a digital-first economy has been powered by its unique Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Systems like Aadhaar (digital identity), UPI (payments), Jan Dhan (financial inclusion), and Direct Benefit Transfers have transformed governance and service delivery. At the AGM, Ambani emphasized how Jio played a crucial role in enabling and scaling these systems.

By ensuring connectivity even in smaller towns and villages, Jio gave millions of Indians access to government schemes, digital identity, and financial tools. Farmers received subsidies directly in their bank accounts, rural households could make digital payments, and students accessed learning platforms from their mobile phones.

In effect, Jio didn’t just connect people, it empowered them to participate in a digital economy. A generation that once felt left out of India’s growth story suddenly found itself at the center of it. The confidence that came with this transformation is hard to measure in numbers but easy to see in how Indians today embrace digital life as second nature.

Fueling India’s startup boom

One of the less obvious but highly significant outcomes of Jio’s disruption has been the rise of India’s startup ecosystem. High-speed internet at low costs meant entrepreneurs no longer had to worry about reaching customers online. A founder in a tier-2 city could now build an app, test it with users, and scale it nationally, something far more difficult before Jio.

Today, India is home to over 100 unicorns, making it the world’s third-largest startup hub. From fintech to edtech, logistics to healthtech, countless startups flourished because the consumer base was ready and connected. Cheap data created a digital marketplace where innovation could thrive.

Ambani noted that Jio was more than a telecom company, it was an enabler of India’s entrepreneurial spirit. By removing barriers to connectivity, Jio indirectly seeded the conditions for the startup boom. The effect was not just economic growth, but also job creation and global recognition of India as a hub for innovation.

From fastest 5G to AI for everyone

If the past decade was about connectivity, the next one will be about intelligence. At the AGM, Ambani highlighted Jio’s nationwide 5G rollout, the fastest in the world, which has already reached more than 220 million users. But he was clear that this is just the foundation for something bigger: the AI revolution.

Jio’s motto going forward is “AI Everywhere for Everyone.” The company is integrating AI across its platforms, from customer journeys and diagnostics to home automation and enterprise solutions. With services like Jio Smart Home, Jio TV+, and AI-powered enterprise platforms for MSMEs, the company is preparing to make artificial intelligence as accessible as mobile data once was.

This ambition is not just about India. Jio plans to take its deep-tech innovations to the world, expanding globally and demonstrating that homegrown Indian technology can compete at the highest level. Combined with its upcoming IPO in 2026, Jio is positioning itself as a global tech player, not just a domestic telecom giant.

Beyond the milestones

The 2025 AGM was packed with announcements, from Jio’s robust financial performance to its preparations for a blockbuster IPO. But the larger story was about vision.

Jio’s journey shows how technology, when democratized, can change an entire society. Free calls broke barriers of communication, affordable data brought entertainment and payments to every pocket, and 5G is now setting the stage for AI-powered services that could redefine industries.

As Ambani put it, “Jio ended India’s digital poverty within a few years.” The next challenge is to ensure AI does not create a new divide but instead empowers every Indian, just as cheap data once did.

The stakes are higher, the ambition bolder, and the responsibility greater. But if Jio’s first decade is any indication, the second promises to be even more transformative.

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