Billionaire | India's Richest Person 'Changes Hands': Net Worth Exceeds 750 Billion RMB; Investing $100 Billion to Build AI Data Centers

New entrants on the list include: Krishna Chivukula, founder and chairman of Bengaluru-based precision metal injection molding firm Indo-MIM; brothers Kushal and Chaitanya Desai of Apar Industries—the leading Indian manufacturer of cables/specialty conductors and transformer oil; Aditya Khemka, founder and managing director of security and surveillance equipment maker Aditya Infotech; and Bhikhabhai, Chandubhai, and Kanjibhai Virani—the controlling shareholders of snack manufacturer Balaji Wafers. More than half of the listed individuals saw their wealth shrink. India’s software services industry is facing challenges from AI-driven automation: Shiv Nadar, Honorary Chairman of HCL Technologies, saw his net worth drop from $33.2 billion to $27.4 billion year-on-year, slipping from fifth to seventh place. Mukesh Ambani—multiple-time former richest person in India—has slipped to second place, with a net worth of $86.3 billion, down $18.7 billion from last year. He serves as Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, a diversified conglomerate operating across oil & gas, telecommunications, power, and retail. The company reported revenue of $119.6527 billion last year, up 4.9% year-on-year, ranking 85th on the 2026 Fortune Global 500—up three places. Ambani is currently accelerating preparations for the IPO of Jio Platforms—the largest mobile network operator in India—with a maximum fundraising target of ₹302 billion (approx. $3.2 billion), set to become India’s largest IPO ever (though slightly below Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion IPO in 2024, when measured in USD). In percentage terms, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal posted the highest wealth growth—up 74% to $34.7 billion—jumping from 12th to 4th place. Born in 1950 into an Indian steel family, he moved to Indonesia at age 26 to manage a steel project, later building the LNM Group on that foundation. He has long pursued global acquisitions of steel assets, having acquired six major steel plants within eight years. In 2004, he announced the merger of his LNM Group with Ispat International and spent $4.5 billion acquiring U.S.-based International Steel Group (ISG), forming Mittal Steel Company.

Global Constellations, Ground-Based Business

In India, Ambani—the very tycoon Elon Musk is preparing to challenge—just signed a Starlink distribution agreement with him last year. On October 11, Reuters reported that Musk stated Starlink’s pricing in India must remain affordable for consumers. Local mobile data rates stand at roughly $0.08 per GB. Ambani’s Jio serves over 500 million customers, and its parent company Jio Platforms is preparing a major IPO. Starlink has yet to announce its pricing; its market entry still awaits final safety approvals and spectrum allocation. While communications technology continues breaking distance barriers, it remains constrained by cost and market demand. After decades of large-scale deployment, terrestrial networks have driven data prices down to extremely low levels. Satellite internet expands coverage—but must contend with the entrenched cost and pricing advantages accumulated by ground-based operators over many years. India has brought this competition into sharp focus. For Chinese companies accelerating satellite constellation deployment, the nation’s mature terrestrial communication infrastructure, robust manufacturing base, and rich industrial demand are providing an alternative development pathway. 01 Behind the Eight-Cent Price Tag In 2016, Jio entered the Indian market with free voice calls and aggressive data subsidies, then rapidly expanded its terrestrial network. According to data from India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in Q1 2026, mobile data users consumed an average of 26.7 GB per month, while operators earned an average of ₹7.51 per GB. The $0.08/GB figure cited by Reuters reflects the prevailing market reference price for mobile data—different in statistical methodology but jointly underscoring the country’s exceptionally low data tariffs. This affordability rests on infrastructure scale. In densely populated areas, a single base station serves numerous users, allowing incremental subscribers to continuously amortize equipment and site investment costs. Satellites bypass mountains and oceans without laying fiber along the way—but incur substantial costs for manufacturing, launch, replenishment, and ground infrastructure; end-users must also purchase dedicated terminals. Beyond cost, satellite internet faces constraints on network capacity. In May 2025, TRAI Chairman Rahul K. Lahoti cited Delhi as an example: the city hosts around five million broadband connection requests, yet—per TRAI’s then-estimate—a single satellite constellation could deliver only about 10,000–20,000 connections. While telecom operators contested this estimate, the gap has nonetheless become a key benchmark in India’s discourse on satellite versus terrestrial network competition. Though satellites cover vast areas, their concurrent user capacity remains relatively limited in densely populated cities. Conversely, in sparsely connected rural areas, users’ limited ability to pay becomes another barrier. In rural India, there are approximately 48 internet subscribers per 100 people, versus 127 in urban areas. Deploying satellite broadband to serve a school, clinic, or community center may prove more efficient than selling terminals individually to households. Such use cases also appear in the cooperation agreement signed between Airtel and SpaceX in 2025. TRAI explicitly defined satellite communications as complementary to terrestrial networks. For Starlink, economically viable markets will likely be those where terrestrial network construction costs are prohibitively high. 02 China’s Market: The First Stop for Satellite Communications China’s terrestrial communication networks are already highly developed.

Jio Platforms' IPO-linked inflows boost rupee; elevated oil prices spur caution

20 hours ago

Indian rupee gains were supported by Jio Platforms IPO inflows, though elevated Brent crude prices exceeding $110 per barrel due to regional tensions maintained market caution amidst high inflation.

reuters

2026-10-21

Jio Platforms' IPO-linked inflows boost rupee; elevated oil prices spur caution

Jio Platforms' IPO-linked inflows boost rupee; elevated oil prices spur caution

FAQ