IGI Logo

Reliance Foundation has reached out to 70 million people in India and it is present in all the states of the country, Nita Mukesh Ambani said in an interview.

“For me, I think a nation’s development depends on women's empowerment, the well-being of its children and transformation through sports. I think these three aspects are key to a developed nation. With the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we are offering employment to one million women to ensure that they get income of Rs 1 lakh or more. So I think women’s empowerment is something very very dear to my heart," she said.

Nita Ambani is often described as one of the most influential and prominent women in India. She is part of the Ambani family, married to Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, the multinational conglomerate that has businesses across many sectors, from energy, petrochemicals to telecommunications.

Reliance is India’s most valuable company and Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in Asia. The couple has been married for nearly four decades and up until August 2023, Nita Ambani sat on the board of Reliance Industries.

She stepped down to focus on her role as founder-chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, a non-profit organisation, with a mission to have a positive impact on society.

She weaves philanthropy into her other passions as well, including arts and sports. She co-owns the Mumbai Indians, one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League. And as for arts, she a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Nita Ambani is also a professional dancer by training.

On the outlook for India hosting the Olympics, Nita Ambani said, “People are waking up to the potential of India. And I think just like we would love to have Olympics in India, Olympics also cannot ignore the 1.4 billion people of the country. So it’s a win win for both. I hope in the near future, the youth of our country will be able to say proudly that we are hosting the Olympics in India."

Speaking about her husband Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani said, “I tell my children all the time that the single most important decision you make in your life is choosing the right life partner. And I am so blessed to have Mukesh, who’s my best friend, and my life partner. We have learned so much from each other. Mukesh, as I say, thinks far ahead of his time."

“And, you know, we’ve enjoyed the journey of life, raising our children and our grandchildren. I think both of us want to do the best not only for the family and the Reliance family, but for the people of India," she said in the interview.

Speaking about her family, Nita Ambani said, “We are very imbibed in Indian culture and traditions. We live in a joint family, so I have my mother-in-law, my mother, my sister, my children, their wives, and their children all living under one roof. Isha calls it ‘community living’. That’s really sweet."

“Mukesh and I still love doing the same thing that we used to when we were young. So he takes me for a drive, we love listening to Hindi music, eating street food, I love my ‘bhel’ on the road and he loves his ‘dosa-idli’. So, we still love doing what we used to love doing. These are the values that we kind of really live every day... loving our family. respecting our elders, being honest, humble. And not much has changed I think," Nita Ambani said.

On the next generation of leadership at Reliance, Nita Ambani said, “Akash, Isha and Anant and a whole lot of the young generation are going to be the next leadership for Reliance and for India. In all three of them, I see different qualities. In Anant, my youngest, I see a compassionate young man who believes in conservation, who believes in making the world a better place.

"Akash is leading the digital revolution through Jio. Isha is leading retail besides taking active interest in Reliance Foundation. All three of them are very, very committed to working in Reliance. They have their own strengths. And I always tell them to concentrate on your strengths and make them stronger. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Nobody’s born perfect or nobody can be perfect. And it is okay to make mistakes.

"You learn much more from your mistakes than you do from your successes. Be humble, be compassionate. Treat people with respect. And I’m very happy for the new young generation that is growing at Reliance."