Hi, dear share owners, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is 2 p. M. And time to start the meeting. I welcome all of you to the 44th Annual General Meeting of the company.
This meeting is held through video conferencing because of the prevailing situation. This is in compliance with the circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The company has taken all feasible steps to ensure that the shareholders are provided an opportunity to participate in the annual general meeting and booth. Adequate video conferencing facility and live webcast Of the proceedings of this meeting have also been provided. The requisite quorum is present and therefore I call the meeting to order.
The register of directors and the key managerial personnel and their shareholding and the register of contracts or arrangements in which directors are interested are available. This will remain accessible to the members for inspection electronically if they so desire. I wish to introduce for the benefit of new members my colleagues on the board of the company. Shrivai P. Trivedi, Doctor.
R. A. Mashelkar, Professor Deepak Jain, Shri Adil Zhanulbhai, Sri R. S. Gujral, Doctor.
Sumit Banerjee, Shrimati Arundhati Bhattacharya, Shri KB Chaudhry, Srimati Neta Ambani, Sri Nikhil Meswani, Sri Hital Meswani, Sri PMS Prasad, Shri P. K. Kapel, All the directors of the company are present at this meeting. Shri Alok Agarwal and Bhi Srikanth, CFOs K. Sethuraman and Savitri Parikh, company secretaries and the representatives of our statutory auditors and secretarial auditor are also present at this meeting.
Ladies and gentlemen, notice dated 27 May 2021 convening this annual general meeting and a copy of the annual report for the financial year ended March 31, 2021 have already been circulated to the members of the company electronically. With your permission I shall take them as read. The auditors report on the standalone and the consolidated financial statements and the secretarial audit report of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2021 do not contain any qualification, reservation, adverse remark or disclaimer. Accordingly, the reports are not required to be read out as provided in the Companies Act 2013. Now I will begin my formal address to all of you, my dear shareholders.
My dear shareowners, a very warm welcome to each and every one of you. It gives me great pleasure to greet you all at the 44th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited. It is the 2nd year in a row that I missed the intimacy and the warmth of face to face interaction with you because of the COVID pandemic. However, the virtual format has enabled Several lakhs of our shareholders to participate in this AGM from the safety of their homes. Friends, we are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, its scale, severity and geographical spread are unseen in a century.
It has filled the hearts of all Indians with enormous pain and grief. Several of our employees and shareholders have borne the brunt of this pandemic. Within our one large Reliance family The suffering of any member becomes the suffering of all of us. Today, Neta, I and my colleagues on the board offer our heartfelt condolences To all those in our Reliance family who have lost their loved ones to this pandemic, I will now request that all of us observe a minute of silence in the memory of the departed souls. Om Shanti, esteemed shareholders, the company's accounts For the year ended 31st March 2021 have already been circulated to you.
With your permission, I would like to take them as read. Our business performance and financial success since the last EGM have exceeded our expectations despite the pandemic, but I shall come to that later in my address. What has given me far greater happiness than our business performance is Reliance's humanitarian efforts During these exceedingly difficult times, I feel both proud and humbled to share with you that throughout the COVID crisis, our Reliance family has risen to the occasion with a sense of purpose and national duty. Our entire organization has become energized with the spirit of service. Every single employee has participated directly or indirectly in the fight against COVID and become a goodwill ambassador of Reliance.
I'm sure our efforts of the last 1 year would have made our founding Chairman, Shrithiru Bhai Ambani proud because The one common unifying thread that runs through everything we have ever done at Reliance is the spirit of care and empathy. We care for our employees and their families. We care for our customers, our shareholders and our partners. We care for the country and the community. We care for the planet and the people.
This is what The true Reliance spirit was, is and will always be. I now invite Isha, Akash and Nita to tell us about our COVID missions of Reliance and the wonderful work done by all our colleagues.
Good afternoon everyone. I am Isha Ambani.
And I am Akash Ambani.
Last AGM, we were hopeful that by this time this year, the pandemic would be behind us. And yet, This is the 2nd time that we are meeting virtually. These have no doubt been very difficult times. But we've come together as a country, as a society and as one Reliant family to rise above them.
Despite the challenges we have faced, when we look back at the year, we feel humbled and inspired that each and every person in our Reliance family Went out of their way to help one another, much beyond the call of duty.
And we know that had our grandfather been with us today, He would be proud. This is the reliance he always wanted to see. 1, Where each person did their very best to help those in need and to be of service to our communities and our country. Many of our Reliance family members have fought this battle from the front lines. Our retail store workers, Telecom engineers, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, we have the deepest gratitude and highest admiration For each and every one of them.
They ensured our nation's fuel supplies are intact. Digital connectivity is unaffected And daily essential needs of millions of people are met safely. We are indebted to them for their service to our country, for their service to humanity.
And I'd like to share with you a couple of stories to highlight what some of our colleagues have done in this time. One of our Geo engineers Mr. Dave checked 12 kilometers at 13,000 feet altitude In 10 feet of snow can you imagine to a totally non motorable road to restore digital connectivity in the Spiti Valley.
When the cyclone hit Mumbai earlier this year, some of our Jio and retail stores faced indefinite power cuts. Our store manager Rupesh and so many others kept the stores running on minimum power consumption to ensure uninterrupted supplies to their customers.
And many of our very own frontline warriors contracted COVID themselves in the course of their duty. But their selfless courage has inspired us every moment of this fight. For over a year, Ricky Bindra, Head of our Corporate Services had been tirelessly organizing daily meals for the needy, Setting up tie ups for beds, medications, ventilators, oxygen, ambulances and all of the vaccinations for our entire Reliance family. Last month, Ricky and his family were diagnosed COVID positive. Ricky himself was in the ICU for 30 days completely paralyzed for 20 days, on a ventilator for 10 days.
By the grace of God he is okay and on the road to rehab and recovery. A salute to Ricky And countless other members of our Reliance family who have placed their country first, community next, family third And self last in this hour of need. They are our real life superheroes.
Thanks to their spirited efforts, millions of our fellow Indians have continued to work from home, shop from home, Learn from home and consult doctors from the safety of their homes in these tough times. Our colleagues personify the DNA of Reliance To care, unite, integrate and empower.
Truly Akash and to tell us more about Reliance Family's Unified and tireless response to this crisis, let us now welcome the Founder and Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, Our dearest mother, Mrs. Neeta Ambani.
Thank you, Isha and Akash. Esteem Shareholders, Namaskar. I hope that all of you and your loved ones are well And safe. The COVID-nineteen pandemic is a humanitarian crisis. It has tested the very spirit of humanity.
But even in the darkest hour, our spirit has shone bright. We as a people have come together And fought this battle with immense empathy and compassion. Reliance Foundation Over the last 11 years has always stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of India in every challenge big or small through good and bad times. We have tried to make a difference to the lives of 45,000,000 Indian Across the country, in the remotest villages and towns of India, we have found and created stories Of hope, of change, of transformation. And so last year, when humanity was struck With the worst crisis in over a 100 years, we did our best to help in whichever way we could and did so urgently.
While our top priority this year was COVID relief, we ensured that we continued all our other developmental work as well. We remained committed to our vision For education and sport for all. Within days of the outbreak, our 14 schools turned into digital schools. They became safe havens of positivity and learning for thousands of students who embraced virtual schooling With unimaginable enthusiasm, we have also worked very hard through these challenging times To bring our dream project, the JEO Institute to life. JEO Institute is envisioned To be an exemplary academic institution with a world class platform for research, innovation and lifelong learning.
It will prepare the next generation of global leaders who will significantly contribute to the advancement of India And the world, despite the pandemic, I am pleased to announce that Jio Institute is all set to commence Academic sessions at the campus in Navi Mumbai this year itself. This year We also launched Reliance Foundation Scholarships in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science For undergraduates and post graduates, beyond education sport has been another symbol of hope, A medium to delight and inspire the world in these times. In 2020, our champions, Mumbai Indians Brought in a lot of joy and cheer to 1,000,000 by winning their 5th IPL trophy. I wish our team all the best for the upcoming second leg of the IPL 2021. Our Football League ISL Became the 1st, the longest and the biggest sporting event to be held entirely in India with complete safety protocols during the pandemic.
It took more than 1600 people In 18 different bio bubbles across 14 different locations in Goa to pull off season 7 Of the Indian Super League very successfully. Apart from Cricket and Football, we continue to focus on other sports Like athletics, archery, basketball, badminton and weightlifting. We have reached to over 21,500,000 children through our grassroots initiatives in various spots all across India. We hope to develop a holistic ecosystem that identifies and trains our young champions of tomorrow. Speaking of champions, I would like to wish all our athletes of Team India all the very best For the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, on a personal note, in December last year, Mukesh and I Became proud grandparents to our dearest Akash and Shlokas, precious baby boy Prithvi Akash Ambani.
Thank you all for your good wishes and blessings on this happy occasion in our family, friends. I am a big believer in the phenomenal power of women. I believe that when women lean on women incredible things happen. On Women's Day in March this year, we launched a digital platform for women called Her Circle. Her circle is an inclusive, collaborative, interactive and socially conscious digital movement.
A circle of solidarity, sisterhood and growth. Brilliance Foundation also partnered with USAID To launch the Women Connect India Challenge this year, a partnership that aims to empower More and more Indian women with digital reach and opportunity. Digital technology Truly is the backbone of this new world order. Using the power of digital, we also help rural communities Safeguard their lives and livelihoods from the natural calamities that affected India this year. Be it the floods in Assam and Uttarakhand or the cyclones on our eastern and western coast, Friend, now I would like to take you through the work that Reliance Foundation is doing in our nation's fight against the pandemic.
Over the past 15 months for Mukesh and me, the top priority has been to do whatever we can to help our nation and our people in these difficult times. Reliance Foundation Launched 5 missions to fight the virus: Mission Oxygen, Mission COVID Infra, Mission Anna Seva, Mission Employee Care and Mission Vaccine Suraksha. Let me start with Mission Oxygen. As you all know, India faced an acute shortage of oxygen as soon as COVID cases began to surge Earlier this year, Rulant swung into action on a war footing immediately. Traditionally, We have never produced medical grade liquid oxygen yet when the need arose we repurposed Our Jamnagar refinery within days to produce high purity medical grade liquid oxygen And within 2 weeks, we ramped up production to a massive 1100 metric tonnes per day.
It would normally take over a year to set up a new medical grade oxygen plant of this capacity, but it was a super human effort by our Reliance engineers who put in more than 85,000 man hours of work And less than 10 days to make it possible. They delivered what mattered the most, when it mattered the most. You will feel proud to know that today Reliance is producing over 11% of India's medical grade liquid oxygen, the highest by a single company at a single location. We are providing this brand value, oxygen To one out of every 10 COVID patients in India and offering this service to the nation Free of cost for Mukesh and me and every member of our Reliance family, This opportunity to serve humanity is the noblest of all noble causes. Friends, in the oxygen supply chain, we have addressed India's serious bottleneck of tankers.
Reliance procured 100 new medical grade oxygen tankers both from within India and other parts of the world Like Germany, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Belgium, Thailand, Indonesia and put them into service within 2 weeks. We also helped in installing oxygen generators in several hospitals Across the country to strengthen oxygen availability, I salute all our engineers, doctors And frontline warriors for working selflessly and tirelessly for mission oxygen. Dear shareholders, the key to fighting the pandemic is a strong COVID care infrastructure. That is what we have tried to achieve through mission COVID infra. Last year, within days of the coronavirus outbreak, We set up India's 1st dedicated 2 50 bedded COVID facility in Mumbai.
By the time the second wave hit us, We have set up additional 875 beds for COVID care in Mumbai alone. Across India, we created A total capacity of over 2,000 beds for COVID care all equipped to provide Uninterrupted oxygen supply and totally free of cost treatment. We also launched a COVID testing lab with a capacity Of over 15,000 tests per day, the entire medical fraternity are the real heroes of this fight. They have put their own lives at risk to save others day after day. They have stayed isolated And away from their families and loved ones to care for us.
They have worked long hours at a stretch wearing full PPE kit but never complained. They have compromised their own health and gone Way beyond the call of duty. Doctor Tarang, Doctor Darshna, Doctor Vivek, Sister Anita, Sister Agnes, Sister Kusum, brothers Chandrasekhar and Omkar, managers Akansha and Kumkum, Shivam, Vikas, TriNet, Mayank, Mayuri and countless others they became like friends and families For patients in COVID wards, caring for them, cheering for them, sometimes singing and dancing for them. Their bravery, their selflessness and their large heartedness is a tribute to humanity In its purest form, as a community we owe each and every frontline warrior a huge debt. With folded hands I salute their spirit of care and sacrifice.
A big thank you on behalf Of all of us, a heartfelt Dhanewar. Friends, in the early days of the lockdown, We launched Mission Anneseva, our commitment to feed the needy and we extended it To include cattle and stray animals. Today this commitment has taken the form Of the largest meal distribution program undertaken by a corporate foundation anywhere in the world, We have so far provided more than 7.5 crore free meals to marginalized communities, daily wage earners And frontline workers across the country, dear shareholders, our next mission, Mission Employee Care Is an expression of our care and concern for the most precious members of our extended family, Our Reliance family. When the pandemic started last year literally overnight we migrated To full time work from home mode. Across Reliance, we made sure that no jobs, No salaries, no bonuses were cut due to COVID.
All medical expenses were fully paid And fully paid leaves were granted. It breaks our hearts that in spite of our best effort, We lost some precious members of our Reliance family to the pandemic. Nothing can fill the void they have left in our minds and hearts. The entire Reliance family Stands in solidarity with their families and share their grief. We remain committed To the family's continued well-being and fulfilling the dreams that they saw together.
Towards this end, Reliance will continue to pay the deceased employee salary to the family for the next 5 years, Finance the children's education in India till graduation and ensure continuity of medical coverage to the family for life. Additionally, a lump sum amount of 10 lakhs will be provided to families Of our off role employees who succumbed to COVID-nineteen my prayers, thoughts and deepest condolences With every family who has lost a loved one. Om, Shanti, dear friend, our 5th And most critical mission is mission vaccine. Mass vaccination is India's topmost An urgent priority now. It is the most reliable way out of this crisis.
And to achieve this In the shortest possible time, the Government of India has recently allowed private enterprises and hospitals to join the effort. To help speed up the vaccination drive, we have set up 116 vaccination centers In 109 cities across the country we have made the entire vaccination process Very easy and accessible on our physical digital platform JioHealthHub. With a click of a button You can book a slot or download COVID certificate. Reliance Foundation will offer this platform Absolutely free of cost to all users. The platform has the ability to scale up to 1 lakh vaccinations A day that is 1 crore vaccination in 100 days.
We are continuously working to further increase this number. We hope to partner with other corporate and local authorities towards fulfilling the mission of vaccinating all Indians by the end of this year. As we speak, We are already testing this platform with our Reliance family. We are currently vaccinating all 20 lakhs of our extended family including retired employees, partner company employees and their families free of cost. Reliance's mission vaccine Suraksha is one of the largest corporate vaccination drives in India.
Executing this mission on a nationwide basis is a humongous task, but It is our dharma, our duty to every Indian, our promise of safety and protection, My dear shareholders, It is so inspiring to see each and every member of the Reliance family come together to do their bit and make a difference. And this journey is made even more fulfilling when we get a thank you message from a mother Who recovers from COVID and then reunites with a child. When a senior citizen blesses us For providing essentials at her doorstep, when a migrant family feels that they are not alone in the city, When a doctor or nurse on duty can protect themselves as they receive the PPE In time, when a hungry stray dog feels human compassion, when a daughter stuck far away Can provide for our old parents through digital solutions and children can continue learning and seeing their friends in virtual school. These are moments that make you believe that we are in this fight together And I assure you that in every challenge that India faces, Reliance Foundation has and will continue To stand with every Indian. Together, we shall overcome as we always have.
Please take care, stay safe, stay healthy and stay hopeful. Thank you.
Thank you, Neeta. Thank you, Isha and Akash. Let us give a standing ovation To each and every member of Team Reliance for their exemplary commitment, devotion and resolve for going beyond the call of duty in serving the society in its hour of greatest need. I indeed feel immense pride in leading such a team that combines Excellence with empathy. My dear shareholders, I now turn to the business and financial performance of your company for the year 2020 2021.
I am happy to report that even in a challenging environment, your company's performance continued to be outstanding. Our consolidated revenue was nearly INR 5,040,000 crores with a sharp increase from our consumer business. Our consolidated EBITDA was nearly INR98,000 crores and almost 50% of the EBITDA was contributed by consumer businesses. 1 of these consumer businesses retail is only about a decade old. The other business Jio is also only 5 years old.
Our net profit for the year was 53,739 crores higher by 34.8% compared to the previous year. Despite the pandemic, we increased our dividends this year. Dear friends, as India's largest business enterprise, Reliance's contribution to the Indian economy continues to remain unmatched. At INR 1,000,000 45,143 crores, we continue to be India's largest exporter accounting for 6.8 percent of India's total merchandise exports to over 107 countries. Even in this challenging environment, Reliance added nearly 75,000 new jobs in the past year.
We are committed to creating and enabling large scale employment opportunities which is one of India's most urgent national tasks. We continue to be India's highest payer of customs and excise duty in the private sector with payments of INR 21,044 crores. We are amongst the highest payers of GST and VAT at INR 85,306 crores. We are also amongst the highest payers of income tax in the private sector paying INR 3,213 crores. For the financial year 2021, Reliance successfully carried out the largest ever Capital raise by any company globally in a year, notwithstanding the COVID challenges.
The capital raises exceeded 3 lakh 24,432 crores that is 44,400,000,000 U. S. Dollars through equity, NGO Platforms and Retail Rights Issue and Asset Monetization. The investors included Some of the best and marquee names across the world, across sovereign wealth funds and private equity. This capital raise is a strong vote of confidence by the global investors in India's growth potential.
It reflects their faith in the ability of your company's management to execute ambitious projects and long term value creation plans. We also rewarded the shareholders with the largest and the most successful rights issue ever by an Indian company. I'm really delighted that our retail shareholders have made 4x returns in just 1 year on their rights issues. All of these helped Reliance achieve a net debt free balance sheet much ahead of March 2021, a promise I had made to you 2 years ago. Dear friends, Let me now talk about the performance of the individual businesses.
Jio Platforms is the leading digital company in India with leadership in wireless connectivity and unmatched suite of apps and platforms. The consolidated revenues in the past year were INR86,493 crores with an EBITDA of INR 32,359 crores. We had a net addition of 37,900,000 subscribers during the year. We now serve Over 425,000,000 consumers on our network. We have revenue leadership in 19 out of 22 circles.
Reliance Retail continues to be the undisputed leader in organized retail in the country with a scale that is more than 6 times the next competitor. Despite a challenging year retail had revenues of 1 INR53,818 crores and an EBITDA of INR9842 crores. We are by far the leader in each category grocery, electronics and apparel. Our O2C business This faced unprecedented challenges as the beginning of the year was marked by severe economic contraction leading to demand destruction and supply chain dislocations. We focused on safe operations of all our facilities.
We were probably the only company globally that operated its facilities at near full capacity and was profitable in every quarter. Our consolidated revenues during the year were INR320,008 crores with an EBITDA of INR 38170 crores. We managed to maintain EBITDA margin at 11.9% Despite volatility in both feedstock and product prices, we operationalize the JV with BP In fuel retailing, using technology and innovation to deliver new customer value, the demand and the margin environment for petrochemicals Has recovered to pre COVID levels by March. I am confident that our O2C business We'll benefit from the strong global growth environment. As an important part of this vision of achieving Accelerated growth, we look forward to welcoming Saudi Aramco as a strategic partner in our O2C business.
Despite several challenges due to COVID-nineteen we have made substantial progress in the past year in our discussions. These discussions have been held in the spirit of mutual commitment to convert a long standing relationship into a perpetual partnership. This continued engagement and resolve from both sides Even during this pandemic is a testimony of the strong relationship between Saudi Aramco and Reliance. I expect our partnership to be formalized in an expeditious manner during this year. In our E and P business, BP and Reliance commenced production in KGD 6 basin.
Our joint venture brought 2 of the 3 toughest Deepwater gas projects to production, this has been accomplished in a record time and set a new global benchmark for capital cost. We are now on course to bring the 3rd deepwater MJ field on stream in the last quarter of 2022. Together we will produce 30,000,000 cubic meters per day of gas by 2023. This will establish Reliance again as one of the largest domestic producers of gas in India meeting 20% of India's gas demand. E and P will again be a source of significant value and sustain earnings growth over the next decade.
Dear shareholders, today I am happy to inform you about the change in the board of Reliance Industries Limited. Shrivai P Trivedi has expressed his desire to retire from the board. It is my duty to place on record our sincerest thanks to Shri Y. P. Trivedi.
He joined our board at the request of our Founder Chairman Dhirubhai Ambani in 1992. On behalf of the entire Board and the shareholders, I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart For all his vice counsel and sage advice for nearly 30 years, YP uncle, we wish you Continued good health and happiness, you are now 92 years young, may God bless you to become Asata Yushi, a Centurion and all of us in your Reliance family will celebrate that day together. I am delighted and privileged to welcome His Excellency, Yasser Al Rumayyan, Chairman of Saudi Aramco and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund to join the Board of Reliance Industries Limited as an independent director. He is one of the most renowned names in energy, finance and technology globally. I am sure that we will immensely benefit from his rich experience of running 1 of the world's largest companies And also one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world is joining our board is also the beginning of internationalization of Reliance.
You will hear more about our international plans in the times to come. Dear shareholders, Last year I had shared with you our vision to create the next big value creation engine for Reliance and India, Our New Energy and New Materials business, I had also announced our 15 year commitment to become net carbon 0 by 2,035. Today, I am happy to present to you our ambitious strategy and roadmap for implementing this vision. The world is entering a new energy era, which is going to be highly disruptive. The age of fossil fuels, which powered economic growth globally for nearly 3 centuries cannot continue much longer.
The huge quantities of carbon it has emitted into the environment have endangered life on earth. Our world has only one option, a rapid transition to a new era of green, clean and renewable energy. The COVID pandemic has further put the climate issue in the crisis bucket. Therefore, The global new energy agenda needs to move from dialogue to action, from commitment to urgent implementation on the ground. In reality, it is not enough to be carbon neutral.
The world needs to achieve absolute reductions in emissions as soon as possible. Last month, the International Energy Agency for the first time Presented a concrete global roadmap for the energy sector to remove all emissions by 2,050. The roadmap calls for annual additions of solar photovoltaic to increase global solar capacity from 7 37 gigawatts in 2020 to about 5,000 gigawatts by the end of 2,030. While this clean energy transition is a global imperative, it is important for India and other developing nations for another reason. India is experiencing an explosion of aspirations.
India's GDP Per capita is around $2,000 while the world average is around $12,000 India's Power consumption per capita is at present only 1 third of the global power consumption. This wealth disparity and energy disparity is unacceptable. Further, The health, well-being and quality of life of every human being is in peril because of the polluted environment. The only answer to these problems lies in sustainable and equitable development in India and globally. How do we increase our energy production by drastically reducing our carbon emissions content?
How do we meet India's growing energy needs through domestic sources of energy and not by importing carbon intensive fuels. How do we do so in a self reliant and affordable way which benefits 1,350,000,000 Indians. These are the challenges we face. I firmly believe that India can, India must and India will meet these challenges. Friends, today I would like to make Three affirmations.
1st, as one of the biggest energy markets in the world, India will play a leading role in transforming the global energy landscape. 2nd, as a company always focused On growing businesses of the future, Reliance will provide leadership on the combined strength of our balance sheet, talent, technology and proven project execution capabilities. 3rd, Reliance will make its new energy business a truly global business. In 2016, we launched Jio with the aim of bridging the digital divide in India. Now in 2021 we are launching our new energy business with the aim of bridging The green energy divide in India and globally and we will do it like we have always done By getting our first principles right, 1st through hyper integration by integrating Scientific knowledge with continuous technological innovation to build and operate truly integrated systems that deliver hyper performance.
2nd, with a robust business model by building a model that catches the irreversible upward curve in the demand for green clean and renewable energy in India and globally and the downward curve in the cost of their production. 3rd, by scale by improving the efficiency, Performance and lifecycle of our assets and operations to achieve total system optimization and economics. Friends, I have no doubt that world class talent will be the most critical resource for this new business. We have begun the process of attracting the best talent from across the world and put into place Various key initiatives, we have established the Reliance New Energy Council with some of the finest mines globally. They will help us validate our strategies and embrace disruptive pathways to achieve our goals.
We are creating a coalition of partnership with leading global universities, best technology companies and the most promising startups in USA, Europe, Australia and Asia. In addition, We shall leverage our existing strengths and capabilities in digitization and platforms and large scale manufacturing. Dear shareholders, I am happy to inform you that we have started work on developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex on 5,000 Acres in Jamnagar. It will be amongst the largest such integrated Renewable Energy Manufacturing Facilities in the World, Jamnagar was the cradle of our old energy business. Jamnagar will also be the cradle of our new energy business.
Allow me to take you through our 3 part plan. The first part of our plan is to build 4 giga factories. These will manufacture and fully integrate All the critical components of the new energy ecosystem, 1, for the production of solar energy We will build an integrated solar photovoltaic module factory. 2, for the storage of intermittent energy We will build an advanced energy storage battery factory. 3, for the production of green hydrogen We will build an electrolyzer factory.
4, for converting hydrogen into mobile and stationary power, We will build a fuel cell factory. Over the next 3 years, we will invest over 60,000 crores In these initiatives Reliance will thus create an offer of fully integrated end to end Renewable Energy Ecosystem, friends allow me to explain each of these facilities in some more detail. Our first integrated solar photovoltaic Gigafactory will create solar energy. We will start with raw silica and convert this to polysilicon which we will then convert to ingot and wafers. These wafers would be used to make high efficiency solar cells and finally assembled into solar modules of the highest quality and durability.
We will target to achieve costs that are lowest in the world to ensure Affordability of our solar modules, we are highly inspired by the goal set by our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji for India to achieve 4 50 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2,030. Out of this I am pleased to announce today that Reliance will establish and enable at least 100 gigawatts of solar energy by 2,030. A significant part of this will come from rooftop solar and decentralized solar installations in our rural areas. These will bring Enormous benefits and prosperity to rural India. Solar energy is available only during the day while power is needed round the clock.
Therefore, storage is an important piece of the puzzle to solve. For this we will launch our 2nd initiative, an advanced energy storage Gigafactory. We are exploring new and advanced electrochemical technologies that can be used for such large scale grid batteries to store the energy that we will create. We will collaborate with global leaders in battery technology to achieve the highest reliability for round the clock power availability through a combination of generation, storage and grid connectivity. Besides electricity green hydrogen will be a unique energy vector that can enable deep decarbonization of many sectors such as transportation, industry and power.
One of the most common methods of generating green hydrogen is by electrolysis of pure water through electrolyzers. This brings me to our 3rd initiative, an electrolyzer gigafactory to manufacture Modular electrolyzers of highest efficiency and the lowest capital cost, these can be used for captive production of green hydrogen for domestic use as well as for global sale. And finally, our 4th initiative will be the fuel cell Gigafactory. A fuel cell uses oxygen from the air and hydrogen to generate electricity. The only emission of this process is non polluting water vapor.
In the new era fuel cells will progressively replace internal combustion engines. Fuel cell engines can power Automobiles, trucks and buses, they can also be used in stationary applications for powering data centers, telecom towers, emergency generators, Micro grids and industrial equipment, this brings me to the second part of our plan, providing infrastructure and materials to support the 4 giga factories. Our Jamnagar complex will provide infrastructure and utilities to manufacture ancillary material and equipment needed to support these Gigafactories so that all critical materials are available in time. We will also support independent manufacturers With the right capabilities to be part of this nationwide ecosystem, we will invest an additional 15,000 crores in value chain partnerships and future technologies including upstream and downstream industries. Thus our overall initial investment from our own internal resources in the new energy business Will be INR 75,000 crores in the next 3 years.
Now let me take you through the 3rd part of our plan. Over the years Reliance has developed significant engineering project management and construction capabilities combining physical and digital technologies. We will repurpose these capabilities along with major international organizations to execute and deliver World scale renewable energy solutions. We will build 2 additional divisions to further strengthen this ecosystem. First, a dedicated renewable energy project management and construction division and second, a dedicated renewable energy project finance division.
The project management and construction division will provide end to end solutions for large renewable plants across the world. It will enable and partner with thousands of green MSME entrepreneurs who can deploy kilowatt to megawatt scale solutions in agriculture, industry, residences and transportation. The project finance division will provide finance solutions to stakeholders in our ecosystem. We will achieve our goals by enabling a platform to source long term global capital For these investments at the most attractive terms, we will seek support from our relationship banks and global green funds For this purpose simultaneously we will also facilitate a platform to provide financing for the entire ecosystem of small businesses and entrepreneurs who invest alongside with us. All of these three parts together constitute our architecture for India's decentralized green economy.
Over a period of time it will generate millions of new and high value job opportunities for our youth. With these new initiatives Reliance will put Gujarat and India on the world's solar and hydrogen map. All our products will proudly claim Made in India, by India, for India and for the world. This will be Reliance's yet Another big contribution to our Prime Minister's clarion call of Atmanirbar Bharat. I am certain that India will present to the world a template of a green economy movement which will truly be a people's movement.
Solar power is the primary source of energy for our planet. Suryadev has blessed India with almost limitless sunlight. I envision a future when our country will be transformed from a large importer of fossil energy to a large exporter of clean solar energy solutions. Dear friends, Reliance is also evolving a vision for new materials and green chemicals. We will kick start this by strategically investing in India's 1st world scale Carbon fiber plant for supporting our hydrogen and solar ecosystems.
You will hear more about this In the future, friends our new energy vision also has immense benefits for our existing O2C business. Allow me to take you through these. 1st, we will use solar energy on an economically attractive basis to decarbonize our existing O2C business and accelerate our journey to become net carbon 0. 2nd, we will use green hydrogen and carbon dioxide as raw materials to develop a roadmap for new green chemicals, green fertilizers and e fuels. 3rd, we will commercialize with global partners Our own world meeting proprietary multi zone catalytic cracking technology to optimize the fossil fuel transition to sustainable chemical and material building blocks.
Thus, we will transform our legacy business into a sustainable circular a net zero carbon materials business, one that will provide growing returns for over several decades and we will do this by repurposing our existing assets to extend their economic life and earning capacity. In doing so, we will have no legacy asset write down in the coming years. Dear shareholders, This twin execution plan of building a new energy and materials ecosystem and decarbonizing and repurposing Our existing O2C business is a multi decade growth plan for our company. It has the potential to create unprecedented value for India and for Reliance in the coming years. Dear shareholders, New energy and new materials are not merely another business for us.
It is our mission to heal the environment. It is an expression of Reliance's commitment that we care for our beautiful and bountiful planet. By implementing our green vision Reliance will help transition India and the world from an industrial civilization To an ecological civilization, we are repaying a debt of gratitude to mother nature. Dear shareholders, Let me tell you in all humility that new energy is the most exciting, most challenging and the most purpose driven mission I will be pursuing in my life. I seek your blessings and support for success in this mission.
Dear friends, let me now turn to Jio, our digital services initiative. In spite of COVID, Jio sustained its track record of robust performance. Jio became The first operator outside China to cross 400,000,000 subscribers in a single country. We are truly grateful to all our valued customers. Thanks to them Jio is today the world's 2nd largest mobile data carrier handling a monthly traffic of over 6.30 crore gigabytes a month.
This is nearly a 45% growth in data consumption in the last year alone, a testament to the rapid pace at which India is digitizing. More significantly, Jio continue to be the digital lifeline binding Indians together in spite of social distancing, lockdowns and working from home. During the past year, we also made the necessary capital investments to further strengthen our market position and growth. During the recent spectrum auctions, we invested INR 57,123 crores to acquire significant additional spectrum making Jio the largest operator of 4 gs spectrum in India. And we have operationalized nearly 100 percent of this additional spectrum.
When combined with another 15,183 crores We invested in further expanding our network infrastructure. Jio has raised the bar even higher for service quality and Jio's leadership is evident across India along all key metrics like indoor coverage, download speeds and video experience. More importantly, these investments have also created the capacity to onboard an additional 200,000,000 customers on Jio's network thereby bringing digital empowerment to even more Indians. Friends, Jio has truly democratized digital connectivity in India by offering the highest quality, the most affordable 4 gs broadband services in the world. Even so, India still as nearly 300,000,000 mobile users who are unable to escape from the inefficient and exorbitant 2 gs services, because even a basic 4 gs smartphone remains unaffordable for these users.
Therefore, an ultra affordable 4 gs smartphone is essential to make India 2 gs MOOC. Last year Sundar and I talked about the Google and Jio co developing a next generation feature rich but extremely affordable smartphone aimed at providing first time internet access for 2 gs users. Today, I am pleased to announce that Google and Jio teams have jointly developed A truly breakthrough smartphone that we are calling JioPhone Next. JioPhone Next It's a fully featured smartphone supporting the entire suite of applications from both Google and Jio and as well as the Android Play Store through which users will have access to the entire universe of Android apps. Jio Phone Next is powered by an extremely optimized version of the Android operating system that has been jointly developed by Jio and Google especially for the Indian market.
While being ultra affordable, Jio Phone Next is packed With cutting edge features like voice assistant, automatic read aloud of screen text, language translations, Smart camera with augmented reality filters and much more. This is a testimony to a global technology giant and a national technology champion working together to make truly a breakthrough product that can be first introduced in India and then taken to the rest of the world. Jio4 NEXT will be available in the market from the auspicious date of Ganesh Chaturthi, 10th September this year. And as you have come To expect from Jio, it is my promise that Jio Phone Next will be by far the most affordable smartphone not just in India, but globally. Let me now invite my good friend Sundar to talk about Jio Phone Next and other areas of collaboration between Google and Jio.
Thank you to Mukesh, Neeta, Akash and Isha and to everyone at Reliance Industries for all you do for India, from investing in infrastructure and technology To creating jobs and expanding opportunity to supporting communities in need, especially in this difficult moment for the country. It's been devastating to see the country hit so hard by COVID-nineteen. Yet it's heartening to see how Reliance has stepped up to contribute to the response and get support to the communities that need it most. On behalf of all of us at Google, We hope you're taking care and are wishing for better days ahead. For Google, the past year Has brought renewed purpose and greater urgency to our mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
At a time when so many aspects of our lives and work are moving online, it's even more important to make technology accessible and helpful for everyone. This goal is at the heart of our partnership with Reliance Jio. I was proud to help launch this partnership last year. It was the 1st and biggest equity investment from the 75,000 crore rupees Google for India Digitization Fund. Our vision was to bring affordable access to information for Indians in their own language, to build new products and services for India's unique needs and empower businesses with technology.
I'm excited that today we can announce the next steps in this vision, starting with a new affordable Jio smartphone created with Google. Our teams have optimized a version of our Android OS especially for this device. We'll offer language and translation features, a great camera and support for the latest Android updates. It's built for India and it will open up new possibilities for millions of new users who will experience the internet for the very first time. And we can't wait to show you the device later this year.
I'm also proud to announce that we are taking our collaboration further with a new 5 partnership between Google Cloud and Jio. It will help more than a 1000000000 Indians connect to a faster and better internet, Support businesses in their digital transformation and help Jio build new services in sectors like health, Education and more, laying a foundation for the next phase of India's digitization. As part of this collaboration, Reliance will also shift its core retail businesses to Google Cloud's infrastructure. They'll be able to take advantage of Google's AI and machine learning, e commerce and demand forecasting offerings. Harnessing the reliability and performance of Google Cloud As they embark on their digital transformation is a key part of our mission in India.
I'm excited for the innovations this partnership will help unleash. We are proud to play a part in India's next wave of technological innovation. Helping to connect 1,300,000,000 Indians To the opportunities the internet creates is meaningful to all of us at Google and certainly to me personally. I know that with greater access to smartphones and improved connectivity, there's no limit to what India's people can do. We look forward to getting technology into the hands of more people and to exploring what more we can achieve together in the years ahead.
Thank
you. Thank you, Sundar. We greatly value Our partnership with Google, friends, as Sundar mentioned, cloud and cloud solution is another area where we are collaborating with Google. Jio will use Google Cloud's cutting edge technologies to power Jio's 5 gs solutions and for powering the internal needs of key Reliance growth businesses like Reliance Retail, Jio Mart, Jio Sawan and Jio Health, friends, we have also made significant progress in collaborations that we announced last year. Let me start with Facebook.
We have launched an initial set of integrations between WhatsApp and GeoMART on a trial basis and the response from WhatsApp and GeoMART customers is encouraging along with lots of valuable feedback. Our joint teams are actively developing the full new commerce solution linking merchants and consumers and we plan to progressively launch these over the next few quarters. With Microsoft We have operationalized an initial 10 megawatt capacity of JioAzure cloud data centers in 2 cities, Jamnagar and Nagpur. We are currently onboarding the initial group of pilot customers and we plan to expand our data center capacity and our offerings to a growing number of SMEs and startups over the coming quarters. We are indeed privileged to have partners like Facebook, Google and Microsoft in whose company our efforts to create a digital society In India, seems that much easier.
Friends, across the world, the past 15 months have been challenging For on the ground physical work, Jio Fiber, Jio's optic fiber based gigabit speed, Fixed broadband services have also faced similar challenges. The pace of optic fiber deployment, Building connectivity and home installations have all been slower than expected because of lockdowns and other restrictions across our country. Despite this, I am glad to announce that Jiofiber has acquired More than 2,000,000 new premises over the past year following all safety protocols for our customers and employees. Now with a cumulative base of 3,000,000 active homes and business users, JioFiber has become The largest and fastest growing fixed broadband operator in India. Data consumption and geo fiber has grown to more than 3.5 times compared to a year ago.
Today, Jio's optical fiber network is physically present outside more than 12,000,000 homes and business premises with a deep fiber footprint in the top 100 cities. I continue to be confident of a rapid uptick of Jio Fibre Services and revenue growth for Jio as India recovers from COVID. Dear shareholders, I announced last year that Jio's engineers have developed 100% homegrown and comprehensive 5 gs solution, which is fully cloud native, software defined and digitally managed. Jio has taken tremendous strides In maturing this state of the art standalone 5 gs technology which signifies a quantum leap to the next frontier of wireless broadband. Together with our partners, we have tested the Jio 5 gs solutions in India, and we successfully demonstrated speeds well in excess of 1 gigabit per second.
Our Made in India solution is comprehensive, complete and globally competitive. It reaffirms my faith in the abundant talent of Indian engineers to deliver world class products in such a cutting edge technology. Recently, we received the necessary regulatory approvals as well as trial spectrum for initiating 5 gs field trials. As I speak to you, the entire 5 gs standalone network has been installed in our data centers across the nation and also At our trial sites in Navi Mumbai, we are confident of being the 1st to launch a full fledged 5 gs service. And because of our converged future proof architecture, Jio's network is uniquely positioned to quickly and seamlessly upgrade from 4 gs to 5 gs.
To develop the end to end 5 gs ecosystem, we are now working with leading global partners to develop a full range of 5 gs capable devices. The Jio 5 gs technology is well positioned to create compelling applications for consumers and enterprises spanning healthcare, education, entertainment, retail and other key verticals of the economy. One exciting 5 gs enabled solution that Jio is developing with our HN Reliance Foundation Hospital It is a state of the art connected ambulance with real time high fidelity telemedicine and remote doctor access. Each connected ambulance can become a virtual extension of an hospital emergency room even while on the move. We are developing with Reliance Foundation Schools to use 5 gs to deliver immersive and interactive ARVR content to students and classrooms making the learning process a delightful, memorable and enriching experience.
We hope that such showcases will catalyze the emergence of a vibrant local 5 gs ecosystem making India a global hub for 5 gs development and export. So Jio is not Just working to make India 2 gs MOFT but also 5 gs YOOH. And once Jio's 5 gs solution It's proven at India scale we are excited by the prospect of exporting Jio 5 gs solutions To other telecom operators across the world, friends, Jio has developed deep expertise in multiple emerging technologies like 5 gs, AI and machine learning, block chain and mixed reality. We are developing 100% owned intellectual property. We have access to deep domain knowledge and operational experience within the Reliance Group across key Industry Verticals, we have a passionate and a talented team and world class partners, and we have the opportunity to serve a global audience.
In all, Jio Platforms is blossoming into a global technology player capable of creating multi fold societal customer and shareholder value for years to come. Dear shareholders, Now let me talk about Reliance Retail. This past year was the true test of our business. Despite challenging and restrictive operating conditions Reliance Retail continued to deliver industry leading returns. We added 1500 new stores which is among the largest retail expansion undertaken by any retailer during this period taking our total count of stores to 12,711.
We continue to maintain and strengthen our leadership position. Today, 1 in every 8 Indians shops with Reliance Retail. My dear shareholders, let me present some of the highlights for this year. Our apparel business sold nearly 5 lakh Units per day and over 18 crore units during the year, this is equivalent to dressing the entire population of UK, Germany and Spain once. Agio has emerged as one of the leading digital commerce platforms for Fashion and lifestyle with a portfolio of over 2,000 labels and brands and listing of over 5 lakh options.
Driven by innovation, Agio now contributes to over 25% of our apparel business. We further consolidated our position in consumer electronics and sold 4.5 crore units of Electronics last year which translates to over 120,000 units per day. Our omni commerce capabilities Allows us to deliver an unparalleled service proposition across 1300 cities. As India's largest grocery retailer, Reliance Retail sold over a 1000000000 units of groceries or about 30 lakh units per day. Our grocery staff operated On the front lines of crisis ensuring availability of essential products to our customers and Kirana partners, Jio Mart Registered over 6.5 lakh peak orders in a single day, GeoMarts growth is a testament To its already loyal customer base 80% of whom are repeat shoppers.
GeoMarts new commerce aim is to transform and grow the small merchant ecosystem so that our merchant partners prosper. Over the past year Over 3 lakh merchants or shopkeeper partners across 150 cities were enabled and empowered to transform their businesses both physically and digitally. Our promise to them is simple, Customer support Hamara. We support you so that you can serve your customers better. A testament to our promise is that we have seen 3x growth in Kirana orders and 2x growth in order frequency.
Expansion across cities is well underway and we will onboard over 1 crore merchant partners and small shopkeepers over the next 3 years. This will trigger a socio economic transformation on an extraordinary scale in India, especially when coupled with our mission of employment generation. Even in these challenging times, I am personally proud to report to you that Reliance Retail has not only protected jobs, but has created Over 65,000 new jobs. Reliance Retail currently employs over 2 lakh people making us one of the largest employers in the country. Over the next 3 years, we shall further create employment for over 10 lakh people and enable the livelihoods for many more.
Growth in the retail sector will usher Growth across the value chain from raw material producers to large and small manufacturers, from logistics service providers to merchants To consumers, in order to expand this circle of shared prosperity, we will be focusing on the following 5 key initiatives. 1st, we will further invest in our research design and product development capabilities. In the next year, we will set up design, research, technology and innovation centers in key areas globally and nationally to develop differentiated offerings for our diverse customer groups. 2nd, we will further strengthen our sourcing ecosystem working closely with producers, MSMEs, service providers, local and international brand companies. We will make them our partners in the journey of value creation that our new commerce model seeks to unlock.
3rd, we are investing in building state of the art Supply chain infrastructure across India by linking all major sourcing and consumption locations. This will maximize efficiencies and minimize losses in the supply chain so that we can share the gains with both consumers and producers. An automated modular reliable and scalable warehousing and logistics ecosystem will enable us to deliver products anywhere across the country in the shortest possible time. 4th, we will focus on expanding our store footprint multifold this year with co located delivery hubs over the next few years. They will provide a strong network to reach and serve millions of merchants and customers.
And 5th, we will continue acquiring businesses to heighten our offering and experience to customers, sharpen our omni channel capabilities, drive operating efficiencies and strengthen our talent pool. Recent acquisitions Include leading physical digital commerce platforms like NetMed, Urban Ladder and Zibame. Reliance Retail continues to be among the fastest growing retailers in the world. We are committed to grow our business so that we are among the top 10 retailers globally. I'm confident that Reliance Retail is on a hyper growth trajectory to grow at least 3x in the next 3 to 5 years.
Now let me turn to our media business. Dear share owners, network 18 successfully overcame the logistic and business challenges posed by COVID-nineteen pandemic. Despite the pandemic, our journalists continue to venture out into the field every day, so that viewers and readers get relevant information from inside the safety of their homes. Our entertainment flagship brand Colors was the first to resume fresh programming after the 1st wave of lockdowns being true to its mission of keeping India entertained with wholesome and creative fare. I now will like to present our value creation roadmap.
Your company has a proven track record of creating maximum societal value and maximum shareholder value through our business operations as well as philanthropic initiatives. The year has proved beyond doubt The resilience of our businesses and our ability to continuously innovate to create value even in adverse conditions. You are well aware of Reliance's epic journey from being a small textile company that had its IPO Less than 50 years ago to today joining the ranks of the 50 most valuable companies in the world, Reliance is probably the only large company in the world that has successfully transformed itself from being a traditional industrial business into an enterprise that now includes 2 mega scale consumer and technology businesses both Jio and retail are at the beginning of their journey, yet both have an embedded culture of continuous value creation. Both have also brought Immense benefits to 100 of millions of consumers by mastering the power of revolutionary new technologies. Our O2C business combined with new energy and materials plan will usher in a new era of exponential growth.
In the last 10 years, Reliance invested over 90,000,000,000 U. S. Dollars in creating substantial wealth for the nation and value for the shareholders. In the coming decade, Reliance has the capacity to catalyze investments of over US200 $1,000,000,000 directly and through partners. These investments will create value on an exponential scale.
They will be based On our disciplined capital allocation approach, preference for pursuing asset light strategies an emphasis on superior investment grade ratings. These investments will also create Over 10 lakh new employment opportunities besides fostering thousands of small and medium enterprises across the country. I assure you that your company will consistently increase payout to its shareholders as our earnings continue to grow. I am confident that Reliance's multiple investment and business announcements today will help in kick starting growth in the Indian economy. I believe speedy recovery In the post COVID period is beyond any doubt, but beyond recovery there will be rapid resurgence.
I have no doubt that India is destined to emerge as one of the top 3 economies in the world. And as your company in its golden decade transforms itself as a new reliance, it is destined to play a proud role In the emergence of a new India, my most esteemed shareholders, my father, Dhirubhai Ambani, Founded Reliance on the principles of investing in future technologies, investing in Indian talent, and investing in India's growth opportunity. I have continued the tradition of following his evergreen principles while growing Reliance as a world class enterprise. As Reliance climbs new summits of success In its onward journey, it will also cross new milestones in being a caring and empathetic corporate citizen. But believe me, the best of Reliance is yet to come.
I have no doubt whatsoever that the next generation of leaders at Reliance led by Isha, Akash and Anand will further enrich this precious legacy. We are meeting at a time when the second wave of COVID The pandemic is past receding. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the central government and all the state governments Along with civil society organizations and corporates have coordinated a massive effort in this fight. But as a company, As a country, as mankind and each one of us as individuals, we have learned an important lesson. We must be far better prepared to face such crisis in the future and never let our guard down.
To achieve this, The most essential resource we need, which is also the most useful resource is a positive mindset. In trying times like these, Positivity acts like a highly effective medicine. It works wonders for individuals, families and for the society. Despair weakens us, determination strengthens us, negativity numbs us with pessimism and inaction, Positivity provides us with hope and confidence. Our ancient civilization has survived Many crisis in its long history because our forefathers had unlimited positivity and self belief.
My father, Dhirubhai Ambani used to say challenge negative forces with hope, self confidence and conviction and the ambition and initiative will ultimately always triumph. I have absolutely no doubt that India will conquer the COVID crisis sooner rather than later. Post COVID India will emerge stronger. It will be a better India, a resurgent India, a more equal India and a far more self confident India. I foresee that the Indian economy will bounce back at a rate that will surprise the world and prosperity and opportunities will be created for all on a scale never seen before not for a few, but for all 1,350,000,000 Indians.
Indeed, I see The global economy resetting itself in ways that will create a more equal world. May God forever guide us along this path. I would like to thank The central and the state governments, shareholders, investors, lenders, suppliers and customers for their consistent and resolute support. I thank all my colleagues on the board for their oversight in this crucial phase of our growth, Their support and immense encouragement. I have special words to acknowledge the collective efforts of the entire Reliance team working tirelessly to create and sustain a world class enterprise.
Thank you.