New Delhi: Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd will look to "greatly" enhance generation of solar power in the North-East, said its chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday. He said that the conglomerate will invest Rs 75,000 crore in North Eastern states in setting up 350 biogas plants, expanding its telecom services, retail footprint, and clean energy projects. Speaking at the Rising NorthEast Investors Summit here, the RIL CMD said his group will invest in factories for high-quality FMCG products in the region and setting up a 150-bed cancer hospital in Manipur.
"Reliance has invested around Rs 30,000 crore in the region in the past 40 years. In the next five years, we will more than double our investments, with our target at Rs 75,000 crore," he said. This will create over 2.5 million direct and indirect employment opportunities as the conglomerate aspires to touch the lives of most of the 45 million population in the North-East.
Ambani said he is making six commitments to the Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
In line with the vision of converting waste to wealth, Reliance will convert the region's vast 'wasteland into wealth-land', by setting up 350 integrated compressed biogas plants which will turn organic waste into gas which could be used as CNG for transportation as well as fuel in industries and cooking in kitchens, he said.
"Under your guidance, we in industry will work with all the Chief Ministers to make the North-East an inspiring model to demonstrate to the rest of the world... how we can make progress, how development can take care of Dharti Maa, how Laxmi Mata can reach every home, and how Bharat Mata indeed embraces all her children with her boundless love."