Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Reliance Jio to offer bargain rates after crossing 100 million customers

Reliance Industries’ Jio telecoms unit will charge a tariff for its services from April, but will offer sharp discounts for a year to those who sign up by the end of March, billionaire Indian owner Mukesh Ambani said on Tuesday (21).

In a speech broadcast live on Reliance Industries’ social media accounts, Ambani - India’s richest man - said the Jio unit already had 100 million subscribers and that the network was expected to cover most of the country’s population by end 2017.


Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, launched in September 2016, has roiled India’s telecoms market by offering free voice and cut-price data plans that are slated to run through March 2017, forcing rivals such as Bharti Airtel to respond with price cuts of their own.

While there have been concerns over whether Jio will be able to retain customers once it starts charging for services, with analysts pointing out that many use Jio as a second connection to take advantage of the free data, the firm said it expects to add subscribers by offering them more bang for their buck.

“Jio promises to provide world-class data at prices affordable to all Indians,” Ambani said in his speech.

Customers signing up by the end of March will be able to use unlimited data and free voice services for a year at a rate of 303 rupees ($4.52) per month under a special plan, Ambani said, sharply below the prices offered by its competitors. Enrolment to the plan would cost a one-time fee of 99 rupees, he added.

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecoms network operator, currently offers unlimited voice and 2GB of 4G data a month for as low as 300 rupees although tariffs vary across regions. The company, launched in 1995, has nearly 270 million customers.

Bharti reported its lowest profit in four years in the quarter ended December as competition from Jio eroded its revenues. Idea Cellular, India’s No.3 telecoms network operator, posted its first ever quarterly loss over the period.

The price war resulting from Jio’s entry has also spurred consolidation in the sector with Idea and Vodafone Plc’s Indian unit, the market’s No.2 player, beginning talks for a merger of their operations.

Jio’s launch came after years of delay and Reliance Industries has already invested more than $20 billion into the venture.

Shares of some of Jio’s rivals fell. As of 1000 GMT, Bharti Airtel’s shares were down almost 4 percent while Idea Cellular shares had slipped 0.5 percent.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less