Govt should be the umpire and not a player: Mukesh

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market capitalisation, said the government has to be more of an umpire and not the player.

Replying to a question by Morgan Stanley on what policy impetus does India needs to secure its future, Ambani said, "World gas markets should be integrated with the Indian gas markets. Artificial and unjustifiable price differentials should go, since they distort the energy economy and deter fresh investments. The government has to be more of an umpire or the tournament organiser as opposed to getting involved in the game."

At the company's annual general meeting on June 3, where the shareholders had raised concerns that many gas customers were paying up to $14 per unit for liquefied natural gas (LNG) while Reliance was allowed to charge only $4.2, Ambani said, "The price of landed gas is $14-16 (and Reliance’s price is $4.2). We have understood your sentiments and your board will transmit this (to the government).”

In the interview, Ambani said he has tremendous expectations from RIL's broadband digital services business to change the game and disruptively innovate to address India’s inherent challenges. "We hope to fundamentally transform the way industries such as financial services, healthcare, media and entertainment operate in India. I also see big potential for broadband-enabled services to transform the government-citizen interface, besides agriculture and the informal sector of the economy, which employ the highest number of people. It is something which we believe will revolutionise the consumption of such services in the country, and Reliance will lead the change," he said.