Former RBI deputy governor MK Jain to join Reliance Industries as advisor

The appointment comes at a time when other business conglomerates, including the Tatas, are investing heavily in the financial services sector

MK Jain, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is set to join Reliance Industries as advisor.

 

The conglomerate, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, is also seeking to bolster its senior leadership with talent from the banking industry, according to a source familiar with the matter.

 

Earlier this year, the RBI had appointed Jain to chair a standing external advisory committee tasked with assessing applications for universal and small finance banks.

 

A spokesperson of Reliance Industries declined to comment on the appointment. An email sent to the RBI on Monday did not elicit any response.

 

Jain had retired from the RBI in June 2023 and is credited with turning around IDBI Bank and Indian Bank.

 

As advisor to the top leadership of Reliance Industries, Jain would help the group strategise on its financial services business.

 

In July 2023, Reliance Industries had spun off its financial services arm into a separately listed entity, Jio Financial Services.

 

The Ambani family currently holds a 47.12 per cent stake in the firm, with a total market valuation of ₹1.38 trillion as of Tuesday.

The appointment of Jain comes at a time when other business conglomerates, including the Tatas, are investing heavily in the financial services sector. 

 

Since its listing, Jio Financial Services, chaired by former veteran banker KV Kamath, expanded its distribution channels with focus on digital acquisition of customers and businesses.

 

It has a slew of subsidiaries. The non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm, Jio Finance, operates nine offices across seven cities for last-mile fulfilment.

 

Jio Payments Bank, another arm of Jio Financial Services, has grown its business correspondent network to approximately 7,300 agents nationwide.

 

Meanwhile, the subsidiary Jio Payment Solutions has integrated its payment offering with JioBharat, its feature phone, enabling the rapid onboarding of small merchants.

 

On the asset management front, Jio’s joint venture (JV) with world's largest asset manager BlackRock secured in-principle approval for its sponsors, Jio Financial Services and BlackRock.

 

The JV, Jio BlackRock Asset Management, has submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for final approval.