RIL commits Rs 5.95 lakh crore investment in Gujarat on clean energy, Jio, other businesses

Reliance Industries Ltd (File image)

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has signed agreements with the Gujarat government making a commitment of an investment of close to Rs 6 lakh crore in the state, the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate said in a statement on January 13.

Aimed at making Gujarat ‘net zero’ and carbon free, RIL proposes to invest Rs 5 lakh crore in the state over the next 10-15 years to set up 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy power projects and develop green hydrogen eco-system.

“RIL will develop an eco-system for assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and encourage entrepreneurs to embrace new technologies and innovations leading to captive use of renewable energy and green hydrogen,” the company said in the statement.

In consultation with the Gujarat government, RIL has started the process of scouting land for 100 GW renewable energy power project in Kutch, Banaskantha and Dholera. The company has requested for 4.5 lakh acres of land in Kutch.

The memorandums of understanding were to be a part of the 10th edition of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’, the summit organised by the state government every year to invite global investors to invest in the state. The three-day summit was slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 10 but was deferred amid rising Covid cases.

RIL also committed to invest another Rs 60,000 crore in setting up new integrated manufacturing unit for new and renewable energy including, that would include— manufacture of polysilicon, wafer, cell and modules for solar power projects, electrolyser unit, energy-storage units, and manufacturing of fuel Cells.

The clean energy investments announced by the company on Thursday are a part of the conglomerate’s ambitious plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore over the next three years to build a new clean energy business that will help it turn ‘net carbon neutral’ by 2035, which was announced by Ambani last year.

Another Rs 25,000 crore investments will be made by RIL in existing projects and new ventures over next three to five years. The company also plans to invest Rs 7,500 crore over three to five years for Jio Network upgradation to 5G and another Rs 3,000 crore over five years in Reliance Retail in Gujarat.

The company said these investments will create 10 lakh jobs in Gujarat going ahead.

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