New Delhi, February 2026 — Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has pledged to turn India into a global powerhouse in the “Intelligence Era,” announcing a staggering ₹10 lakh crore investment over the next seven years.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit, Ambani signaled the end of India “renting” intelligence from the Global North, vowing instead to build a sovereign, affordable, and inclusive AI ecosystem for every citizen.
Beyond Technology: A “Modern-Day Akshaya Patra”
Ambani described AI not as a mere software update, but as a revolutionary force capable of autonomous learning and production. He famously compared AI to the Akshaya Patra—the legendary vessel from the Mahabharata that provided endless nourishment—predicting it will offer “limitless augmentation” in knowledge, efficiency, and productivity for the 21st century.
The End of “Intelligence Scarcity”
A central theme of the announcement was the democratization of compute power. Ambani criticized the current global landscape where AI is scarce, expensive, and controlled by a few nations in the Global North.
To counter this, Jio Intelligence will focus on:
- Gigawatt-Scale Compute: Building multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centers in Jamnagar, with the first 120 megawatts coming online by the second half of 2026.
- Green Power Advantage: Utilizing Reliance’s 10 gigawatt surplus of green energy from Kutch and Andhra Pradesh to ensure sustainable AI growth.
- Edge Intelligence: Deploying an “edge compute layer” across Jio’s network to bring low-latency AI to local kirana stores, clinics, and farms.
Targeted Solutions for the “Viksit Bharat” Dream
The ₹10 lakh crore push isn’t just about infrastructure; it’s about solving real-world development challenges. Reliance unveiled several high-impact applications:
- Jio Shikshak: An adaptive AI teaching assistant for India’s 250 million school children, capable of teaching in 22 local languages.
- Jio Arogya AI: A healthcare tool designed to deliver medical guidance in local languages in under five minutes on any mobile device.
- Jio Krishi: A specialized tool converting satellite imagery into voice-first advice to help 140 million farmers increase their yield.
Bottom Line
Mukesh Ambani’s message is a clear rejection of digital colonization. By slashing the cost of “intelligence” just as he once did with data, he aims to ensure that India’s growth is driven by its own data and talent. The era of India being a mere consumer of Western tech is over; with a ₹10 lakh crore war chest, the country is now positioned to be its primary architect.
