Ownership Issues

Indians have come to expect infallibility from Reliance. The Bombay-based conglomerate, which in its last financial year reported more than $22 billion in annual revenues (3.5% of India's GDP) from sectors as diverse as oil refining, power generation and mobile-phone service, is the most successful private enterprise in India's history. Founded in 1958 by the late Dhirubhai Ambani, the group has prospered and expanded through changes of government, seismic shifts in public policy and the opening of India's economy. Rivals sometimes complain about Reliance's access to politicians and its aggressive business tactics, but ordinary citizens give the conglomerate their vote of...