Jio introduced a new anniversary tariff plan costing ₹3,599 with a long validity period

Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital services division of billionaire Mukesh Ambani from Reliance Industries Ltd, has received approval from the market regulator SEBI to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that could raise approximately $3.8 billion. This event paves the way for what is set to be the largest listing on the country's stock market.

The final decision from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was published on August 28, according to an update on the regulator's website. Previously, Jio Platforms had submitted draft documents for the IPO in June.

In the regulatory filings, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) indicated that Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), its subsidiary, received a letter with observations on the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the proposed IPO from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on August 28, 2026.

According to the draft prospectus, the company plans to issue up to 270 million new equity shares, which accounts for approximately 2.9% of its equity capital post-listing. According to sources familiar with the matter, this offering could value Jio Platforms at approximately $137 billion.

With an estimated offering size of about ₹37,700 crore (equivalent to $3.8 billion), this offering would surpass the Hyundai Motor India listing of $3.3 billion in 2024 and become the largest IPO in India. The proposed National Stock Exchange IPO, valued at approximately ₹30,000 crore, would be smaller.

The proceeds from the sale will primarily be used to repay or prepay approximately ₹27,500 crore in outstanding borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, a material subsidiary of Jio Platforms, as per the draft prospectus. The remaining amount is designated for general corporate purposes.

This public offering takes place amid activity in the Indian primary market, which shows strong participation from retail investors and domestic institutions. Over two dozen IPOs have been announced or launched since July 1, almost matching the 28 registered in the first half of 2026.

Jio Platforms manages Reliance's digital enterprises, including its telecommunications operations. JPL's telecom division, Reliance Jio Infocomm, dominates the Indian telecom market, holding a 32.89% share in fixed connections, serving 157.9 million customers, and a 39.29% share in mobile connections, with 506 million customers.

By the end of July, the company had over 53.5 million subscribers, making it the second-largest mobile operator in one country globally after China Mobile. JPL possesses the largest 5G Standalone network outside of China, boasting 26.85 million 5G customers as of June 2026.

Jio leads in the Fixed Wireless Access segment globally with approximately 1.5 million subscribers, about 1.5 times more than the second-largest player, T-Mobile from the USA. Jio claims that its 5G network capacity approaches 60% of India's wireless data traffic, which is one of the largest in the world.

Leveraging its network power and traffic capacity, Jio has expanded into other areas, including cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and enterprise network services.

During the fiscal year 2026, Jio Platforms demonstrated a 15% increase in profit after tax to ₹30,053 crore and a 14.5% increase in annual revenue to ₹1,46,885 crore.

Reliance Industries also received shareholder approval for internal transactions worth over ₹16,64 lakh crore, distributed over the next five fiscal years, involving subsidiaries of Jio Platforms and Reliance Jio Infocomm. The largest portion of the total deal, exceeding ₹13 lakh crore, will go to Reliance Jio from Reliance Retail in exchange for telecommunication services sold through its retail network.

Previously, Jio Platforms attracted major global technology and financial investors. In 2020, Meta invested ₹43,574 crore for a 9.99% stake, and Google invested ₹33,737 crore for a 7.73% stake. Other investors, including Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures, collectively invested about ₹74,745 crore for approximately 15.2% stake.

According to the draft prospectus, Reliance Industries owns about 66.4% of Jio Platforms, while Meta and Google together hold about 17.7%. This IPO will be the first public offering from the Reliance group since 2008 and the first consumer business IPO within the conglomerate.

Although Ambani chairs Jio Platforms, his elder son Akash serves as its Managing Director. Akash is also the Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the company's telecommunications arm.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has overturned a ban of Rs 11,003 crore imposed on Reliance Jio Infocomm for the 2019-20 assessment year. The Tribunal ruled that the manner in which the company reflects expenses in its accounts does not, by itself, determine how they should be treated for tax purposes.

According to Economic Times, the dispute concerned expenses amounting to Rs 11,003 crore, which Jio capitalized in its accounts under Capital Work in Progress (CWIP) during construction, but simultaneously accounted for as operating expenses when calculating taxable income. These expenses included network interaction costs, employee expenses, professional fees, electricity and fuel, repairs and maintenance, and network operating expenses.

However, the assessing officer insisted that these expenses were related to the modernization and improvement of Jio's telecommunication network and therefore should be capitalized for tax purposes, with the possibility of depreciation under Section 32 of the Income Tax Act. Consequently, the entire amount of Rs 11,003 crore was disallowed.

In its decision, judicial member Amit Shukla and accounting member Arun Hodpia stated that there is no absolute rule requiring the company's accounting treatment to match the tax accounting. The Tribunal noted that if the tax authorities intend to treat an expense as a capital expenditure, they must examine its purpose and establish a clear link to the acquisition or creation of a capital asset, as stated in the ET report.

Later, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), or CIT(A), also cancelled this addition, as the expenses related to assets that had already been installed and commissioned and did not lead to the creation of a new long-term asset, the report added.

What did the tribunal state?

The ITAT bench emphasized that telecommunication infrastructure requires constant optimization, strengthening, and maintenance even after commercial operations commence. According to the ET report, expenses related to network improvement or optimization do not automatically become capital expenditures.

The Tribunal clarified that the key question is whether the expense created a new asset, expanded an existing profit-making mechanism, or merely assisted in the operation of an existing mechanism. The bench criticized the assessing officer for treating the entire sum of Rs 11,003 crore as a single capital expenditure without examining the nature and purpose of individual expenses or establishing a clear link to the acquisition or creation of a capital asset, as added in the ET report.

In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the disputed expenses were incurred to meet the quality parameters of already installed and functioning assets, and upheld the CIT(A)'s decision to cancel the entire disallowance.