Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani returned to the BSE on Thursday to recall his father Dhirubhai Ambani's prophetic vision about India's capital markets. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, when Mukesh Ambani returned from Stanford as an 'idealistic young man' in the late 1970s, he wondered how a Bombay Stock Exchange dominated by 'dhotiwalas' could endure. 'Believe me, 50 years from then, we are one of the largest capital markets,' Ambani said, recounting his father's vision at that point in time. Nearly five decades later, Ambani connected his father's philosophy with four lessons he drew from former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya's life, emphasizing that 'No bold vision can be realised by one individual' and that leaders must put the right people in the right roles.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani called on corporate leaders to collectively build an ecosystem that enables more working women and mothers to remain in employment and rise to leadership roles. Speaking at the BSE during the launch of Aparajita, the Hindi edition of former State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya's memoir Indomitable, Ambani stated that India Inc still has 'a very long way to go' in ensuring women receive the opportunities they deserve. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, Ambani said, 'Let us collectively start an effective initiative to strengthen the ecosystem that supports working women and working mothers in corporate India. You take the leadership; we will follow.' As per Moneycontrol, Ambani appealed to fellow business leaders, stating 'Let us help and empower thousands of indomitable women leaders to build and run the new temples of Viksit Bharat.' Addressing the challenges ahead, Ambani urged the audience to build an India 'where every girl can dream without limits, every woman can lead without barriers.'
The Reliance Foundation will participate fully in such an initiative, with Ambani asking Bhattacharya and other accomplished women leaders to help lead it. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, Bhattacharya's four-decade journey, from joining SBI as a probationary officer to becoming the bank's first woman Chairperson and later leading Salesforce India, has come to represent both the possibilities available to women and the structural barriers they continue to encounter. The Hindi edition will carry her story to 'the young women and men of Bharat' across cities, towns, districts and villages, important as businesses recruit more deeply from Tier-II and Tier-III India. According to Moneycontrol, Ambani requested Bhattacharya and other accomplished women to guide the initiative, describing the book as 'not an ordinary autobiography' but 'a call to action'. Ambani emphasized that the Hindi version's title including the word 'Aparajita' serves as inspiration, stating 'Each of us will face moments when the road is difficult, the outcome uncertain, and the temptation to give up very real. At that moment, remember the spirit of 'Aparajita'. We may not control every circumstance, but we can always summon our courage, the intensity of our effort, and rise again.'
Ambani described Bhattacharya as an independent-minded strategic thinker who listens patiently, challenges constructively and looks beyond immediate difficulties to their longer-term consequences. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, he credited her with consistently pushing Reliance to treat diversity as a source of stronger leadership and better decision-making, resulting in many more women in senior roles at the company. Since joining the Reliance Board in 2018, Bhattacharya has contributed experience and independent thought, with Ambani noting 'She brings optimism into every boardroom discussion with the confidence of a leader who has faced complexity and found a way forward.' He added, 'She has consistently encouraged us to promote diversity as a source of stronger leadership and better decisions from day one in 2018.' As per Moneycontrol, Ambani stated that 'Today at Reliance, we are very proud to have many more women leaders at senior levels across Reliance.'
Ambani emphasized that 'Women are no longer merely beneficiaries of progress; they are its architects,' pointing to their growing leadership across business, science, sport, the armed forces and communities. According to Moneycontrol, he stated 'It is now my firm conviction that our world needs more emotional quotient than intellectual quotient, which is to say, more women in leadership positions.' He highlighted that 'Women bring a rare kind of EQ, empathy quotient' to negotiations and real-life situations. Bhattacharya's career also challenged the notion that breaking a barrier is sufficient, with Ambani noting that she continued mentoring young leaders and creating opportunities for others, stating 'The best they do not close the door behind them; they hold it open for thousands of others coming in as well.'
