Reliance Industries, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the most valuable businesses in India, with its headquarters in Mumbai. It is the largest private sector company in the country and has businesses that span a diverse range of sectors, including petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, telecommunications through Jio, retail with Reliance Retail, digital services, media, and entertainment.
 

The company also has a significant presence in textiles and energy and is involved in new initiatives in renewable energy and sustainability projects. Thus, the multinational conglomerate is also the largest private taxpayer in India and accounts for more than 7% of the total exports of merchandise in India.
 

The majority shareholders of the company are the promoters—the Ambani family, which owns 50.39% of Reliance Industries' shares. The remaining 49.61% of shares are held by the public, which also includes corporate investors, FIIs, the Life Insurance Corporation of India, other domestic enterprises, and mutual funds.
 

In this article, we will look at the history of Reliance Group briefly to get a better understanding of its journey. 

• Founded in 1958 as a textile manufacturer, Reliance Industries has diversified into petrochemicals, telecommunications (Jio), retail, media, and more, becoming one of India's largest private sector companies.
• Reliance has made significant strides, including becoming the world's largest petrochemical company by the 1980s, launching Jio’s 4G services in 2016, and expanding into renewable energy and technology in recent years.
• Key subsidiaries include Reliance Jio for telecommunications, Reliance Retail for consumer goods, and Reliance New Energy for renewable projects.

Here are some key details about Reliance Industries:

• Year of establishment: 1958
• Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani
• Headquarters: Mumbai, India
• Market capitalisation: Approximately Rs. 19.77 trillion
• Number of employees: Around 347,362

Reliance Industries Ltd. was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani as a small-scale textile manufacturing unit that has now grown into one of the biggest companies in India. In the initial days, its sole focus was on manufacturing textiles, and it soon became the biggest player in the textile segment. Later, in the 1970s, the company expanded its operations into the petrochemical industry and by the 1980s, it had become the largest petrochemical business in India and the entire world.
 

The year 1986 marked the first IPO of RIL, during which they raised capital to grow their operations and diversified into other sectors, such as telecom, power, utilities, and financial services. By the year 2002, RIL had merged with Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL), which allowed them to expand their operations in petrochemicals and refining even further.
 

In 2005, Reliance entered the retail world and opened its first store in Mumbai. Over the next two decades, the company expanded its retail footprint to include grocery stores, supermarkets, and e-commerce platforms. In the last ten years, the company has continued to grow its operations multi-fold while making significant investments across a diverse range of sectors, such as renewable energy, healthcare, and digital services.
 

Reliance Industries operates in more than 100 countries today and is a category leader across many sectors that it operates in.

Following is the history of the Reliance Group history in detail:

• 1966: Reliance Textiles was established as a small business in Maharashtra. A mill was also launched in Naroda, Gujarat. The two were merged in the same year to form Mynylon Ltd.
• 1973: Mynylon was established as a public limited company in Karnataka, which manufactured synthetic cloth blends such as blended fabrics, yarns, polyester etc.
• 1975: This year saw the company get converted into a public limited company.
• 1977: The company applied for an IPO on March 11th this year and changed its name to Reliance Textiles Industries Ltd.
• 1985: The company’s total assets were worth more than Rs. 1,000 crores.
• 1986: RIL established a PTA plant at Patalganga and started manufacturing  Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF).
• 1988: RIL, for the first time, crossed the Rs. 1,000 crores mark in sales.
• 1991: The company started another petrochemicals unit at Hazira, Gujarat, which manufactured HDPE and PVC.
• 1993: Became the first Indian private company rated by international credit agencies.
• 1996: Reliance became the first private sector company in India to be rated by international credit agencies, with net profits exceeding Rs. 1,000 crore.
• 1997: Reliance became the first Asian business to issue 50 and 100-year bonds in the U.S. debt market.
• 2000: Reliance Power Ventures, a fully-owned subsidiary, was launched. The company also established the Indian Institute of Information Technology.
• 2002: Reliance Petroinvestments became a subsidiary unit, and Reliance Life Insurance and Reliance General Insurance were closed.
• 2005: The company received the National Energy Conservation Award and the National Award for R&D efforts in the industry.
• 2009: Reliance raised Rs. 3,188 crore through the sale of 1.5 crore equity shares.
• 2010: The company formed joint venture partnerships with Atlas Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Carrizo Oil & Gas in the United States.
• 2013: Reliance Industries reported revenues of $68.4 billion for FY 2012-13, with a net worth of Rs. 176,766 crore. The company’s exports constituted 14% of India's total exports for the year.
• 2014: Reliance Jio became the first telecom company to secure a pan-India Unified License.
• 2016: Jio launched affordable 4G, transforming India’s telecom sector.
• 2018: The company became the world’s second-largest PX producer.
• 2019: Jio ranked as India's most innovative company; launched new postpaid offerings.
• 2020: The company attracted investments from Facebook and Google for digital ventures.
• 2022: Became the first Indian company to issue 50 and 100-year bonds in the U.S.
• 2023: It launched 5G services in select Indian cities.
• 2024: The company expanded into telecom, energy, retail, and technology sectors globally.

Here is an overview of some of the most important subsidiaries of Reliance Industries: