Hello, this is Priyanka Salve writing from Singapore.
Welcome to the latest edition of Inside India. A one-stop-shop for the stories and developments of the world’s fastest growing large economy.
Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who drew the ire of Elon Musk last week with plans to launch satellite communications and dominate India’s telecom market, has more pressing concerns.
Jio Platforms, the company at the center of Musk’s comments, is planning a record IPO soon, but its valuation demands have been met with pushback from investors who appear unconvinced by the company’s positioning as a technology company.
Do you have any thoughts on today’s newsletter? Share them with the team.
big story
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecoms and digital services business Jio Platforms, which Starlink founder Elon Musk criticized last week as “monopolistic,” has cut its valuation ahead of next week’s initial public offering.
Jio Platforms, India’s largest telecom operator with more than 500 million subscribers, is positioning itself as a technology company rather than just a traditional utility provider, experts told CNBC, but opinions are divided on whether these demands are valid.
Jio Platforms’ IPO plans to raise up to 302 billion rupees (approximately $3.2 billion) at a price range of 1,065 rupees to 1,119 rupees per share, the parent company said. Reliance Industries it said in a stock filing Wednesday. This would value the company at about $108 billion, lower than the more than $130 billion valuation it floated a year ago.
Global brokerage firm Nomura said in a report on Sunday, based on last week’s Bloomberg News, which revealed details of the IPO price, that Jio’s valuation has shrunk to $118 billion from an initially expected $133 billion.
Reliance IndustriesJio Platforms’ parent company, CNBC, did not respond to CNBC’s email requesting comment.
New Delhi, India – 10/09/2026: A visitor walks past the Jio logo (representing Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, an Indian telecommunications and digital services provider) during the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 at Yashobhoomi India International Convention and Expo Center.
Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
The $108 billion stock valuation puts Jio below the status of India’s second-largest telco Bharti Airtel, which currently trades with a market capitalization of more than $117 billion, according to LSEG data.
“Post-listing, Jio will need to demonstrate growth to public shareholders,” the report said, adding that the days of “low-hanging fruit for subscribers” are coming to an end and rate hikes are likely to be the “key driver of profit growth.”
According to information shared in Jio Platforms’ IPO documents, the company’s ARPU was 214 rupees ($2.25) per month, while competitor Airtel’s ARPU was 257 rupees for mobile, 527 rupees for home internet and 158 rupees for digital TV services.
Jio’s discount to Airtel seems justified based solely on average revenue per user, a key metric for telcos, but Jio wants to be seen as a technology company and not just a utility player.
Technology or communication?
Jio Platforms plans to clear legacy telecom debt through the IPO and secure internal cash flow for its second phase of growth, said Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research.
According to IPO documents, Jio plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay Rs 275 billion in telecom debt.
The next phase of investment will include funding the company’s “gigawatt-scale green AI infrastructure” and low-orbit satellite network, putting it in the technology business space, Shah said.
He pointed out that the global high-tech majors are: Meta and googleown around 10% and 8% stake in Jio respectively, but have indicated that they have no intention of exiting their investment through an IPO and will wait for the next phase of growth.
At the company’s annual general meeting in June, Ambani told shareholders that Jio “will prove to the world that India can build a technology company with global scale, global capabilities and global value.”
He highlighted that according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, Jio Platforms’ ranking for ‘speed of innovation through patents’ has risen to 20th from 340th a year ago.
It was also during this period that Mr. Ambani announced Jio Platforms’ plans to enter India’s satellite communications space, an area of interest for Mr. Musk’s Starlink. Musk last week blamed Ambani for Starlink’s delayed launch, saying his company had “spent five years complying with every law and requirement” of the government.
But even as the world’s richest man and India’s second-richest businessman race to bring internet to remote parts of India, some experts aren’t convinced Jio Platforms has enough to be defined as a tech company.
Jio Platforms wants technology pricing but “doesn’t have the product expertise” at the moment, Anurag Singh, managing partner and founder of US-based Ansid Capital, told CNBC.
He added that while Indian investors may buy Jio’s technology pitch because they have no choice, “global investors will not.” For now, Reliance is a utility company and will need significant investment to transform into a high-tech company, Singh said.
need to know
Prime Minister Modi defends India as ‘mother of democracy’ as ‘cockroach’ protests spread over allegations of voter fraud
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday defended India as the “mother of democracy” as protests intensified demanding the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of voter fraud.
India slams J.D. Vance’s comments on immigration as ‘highly offensive’
India on Friday condemned US Vice President J.D. Vance’s comments on immigration from the country, calling them “highly offensive”. Vance said a day earlier that foreign and local companies “cannot lay off American workers and replace them with foreign indentured servants.”
India’s retail inflation rate rises to 5.54% in September, higher than expected
India’s headline inflation rate rose to 5.54% in September from 4.82% in August, increasing pressure on the country’s central bank to further tighten monetary policy. Consumer price index slightly exceeded economists’ expectations of 5.40%
Indian billionaires investing in President Trump’s refinery projects are also buying more Venezuelan oil
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has invested in a historic US refinery project proposed by President Donald Trump and has now emerged as the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside the US.
very soon
October 15: India unemployment rate data for September
October 21: Jio platform IPO begins.
—Corrects number of subscribers for Jio platforms in second paragraph of “Big Story” section.
