Fortune said Ambani "likes to say it provides the public with 'digital oxygen'" but "two years ago there wasn't much oxygen to go around in the world's second-most-populous country."
Fortune has realesed its fourth Change the World list and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio has topped it. The 'Changed the World' list ranks companies over how the firms are using their profit motive to help the planet and tackle social problems. Jio is ranked ahead of pharma giant Merck and Bank of America, according to Fortune list released on Wednesday.
"If access to the Internet is a basic human right -- and the United Nations declared it one in the summer of 2016 -- then Reliance Jio deserves more credit than most for expanding access to it," Fortune said.
Fortune said Ambani "likes to say it provides the public with 'digital oxygen'" but "two years ago there wasn't much oxygen to go around in the world's second-most-populous country."
"Mobile phones crawled on 2G networks, and consumers typically paid more than Rs 200 for one gigabyte of data. India had just 153 million mobile Internet subscribers among its population of 1.3 billion. Enter Jio, with a speedy 4G network (which it spent billions building out), free calls, and dirt-cheap data (as low as 4¢ per GB). It has since issued a super-low-cost smartphone and is rolling out fixed broadband service as well," it said.
Elaborating the relevance of the list, Fortune said the Change the World list recognizes companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.
Following are the top 10 firms
1. 1. Reliance Jio
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As mentioned above, Reliance Jio ranked the list. "The resulting 'Jio-fication' has been nothing short of revolutionary; with data use surging and Jio's competitors scrambling to match its offerings, the development has jump-started India's digital economy," Forbes said.
2. Merck
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On second spot, there is a US based pharmaceuticles firm Merck. The company had developed Ebola vaccine in collaboration with Canada’s public health agency and NewLink Genetics, not long after the deadly virus broke out in West Africa. (Image: Reuters)
3. Bank of America
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"The bank helped invent, and is now the biggest player in, the market in “green bonds,” which secure better financing for climate-protecting projects; green bond issuance worldwide soared from $13 billion in 2013 to $161 billion last year", Fortune said. (Image: Reuters)
4. Inditex
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On fourth spot is Inditex from speciality retailers, "Mindful of consumers’growing desire to know their clothes were made under safe working conditions, Inditex, the retailer and parent of fast fashion chain Zara, has steadily shifted production to suppliers with stronger safety records", Fortune said. (Image: Reuters)
5. Alibaba group
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China's Alibaba Group ranks fifth. Fortune said, "Alibaba wants to drive money into rural China in a fairly literal way. Its popular maps service, Auto-Navi, launched a “poverty alleviation map” feature in Henan province this year, designed to entice day-trippers into remote countryside towns. It flags what facilities are available, helping local restaurants, gas stations, and shops draw customers and develop an online presence."
6. Kroger
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Nearly half the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away, yet 40 million Americans go hungry. Grocery giant Kroger is tackling these issues simultaneously, aiming to eradicate hunger in communities where it operates and to eliminate internal waste by 2025. (Image source: reuters)
7. Xylem
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The $4.7 billion firm, bolstered recently by a spree of “smart infrastructure” acquisitions, is working to tighten the pipes of the world’s water supply, installing sensor-driven, software-enabled technologies that can reduce losses (which typically siphon off an estimated one in six gallons for municipal systems in the U.S. and up to 60% of supply in emerging markets).
8. ABB
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As electric vehicles have grown more popular, robotics maker ABB has installed over 7,000 fast charging stations worldwide—saving about 2 million gallons of gasoline over the past seven years.
9. Weight Watchers International
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Weight Watchers has built a $1.3 billion business around the fight against obesity, emphasizing gradual, sustainable changes in eating and exercise habits rather than crash diets and packaged meals.
10. Hughes Network Systems
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When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last year, the island’s communications infrastructure was largely destroyed. Enter the Disaster Relief Support unit of Hughes, one of the world’s biggest satellite operators.
