Business
The Five-Minute Billion-Dollar Ride: How Mukesh Ambani And Larry Fink Birthed Jio BlackRock
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Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani and BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink engaged in a riveting conversation at the JioBlackRock event ‘Investing for a New Era’
Mukesh Ambani and Larry Fink at the Jio BlackRock fireside chat. Image/News18
In a high-powered fireside conversation on Wednesday, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink shared the remarkable origin story and the ambitious future of their joint venture, Jio BlackRock.
The youngest fund house in India has achieved a staggering feat: in less than six months since launching its first fund in mid-2025, it has crossed Rs 13,700 crore in assets under management (AUM) across 13 schemes.
The Five-Minute Car Ride Deal
The partnership, a $300 million equal joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock, was famously forged during a simple car ride in 2023.
“It was a conversation that we had in 2023, and it took me five minutes to say, ‘Larry, BlackRock should be back in India.’ And he said, ‘Will you partner with me?'” recalled Mukesh Ambani at the JioBlackRock event ‘Investing for a New Era’.
Larry Fink, whose firm manages a world-leading $14 trillion in assets, echoed the sentiment of speed and trust. “We had to go from point A to point B, and we accomplished it in that car ride,” the 73-year-old CEO remarked, noting that the deal reflected a “long-term optimism” for the Indian economy.
Democratising Wealth: From Savers to Earners
The conversation highlighted a massive shift in Indian household habits. The Indian mutual fund industry has ballooned nearly sevenfold in the last decade, reaching Rs 80.23 trillion by December 2025. Ambani emphasised that the mission is to unlock the “unproductive” savings of Indians.
The Opportunity: Household savings in equity and mutual funds rose from 2% in 2012 to over 15% in 2025.
The Goal: To encourage Indians to convert those savings into consistent earnings through accessible, tech-driven investment options.
BlackRock’s Strategic Bet on India
For Larry Fink, the partnership is about finding partners with the “guts to break the mould”. He stressed that BlackRock’s purpose in India transcends short-term returns.
“If I cannot put this money to work first for the betterment of society and as a byproduct I give my investors and shareholders returns, then I wouldn’t have done my job,” Fink stated.
BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein added that with India poised to become the world’s third-largest economy, the mutual fund industry—currently under a trillion dollars—is just at the beginning of its growth curve. To further this, the venture recently launched a digital advisory platform powered by BlackRock’s Aladdin technology, offering personalised investment advice for as little as Rs 350 a year.
With banking veteran KV Kamath predicting the industry will double again in the next five years, the Ambani-Fink alliance is positioned as the primary catalyst for India’s “wealth inclusion” era.
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February 04, 2026, 18:10 IST
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Two ads promoting British beef and milk have been banned after television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham complained that they misled consumers about the products’ carbon footprints.
Both ads for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Let’s Eat Balanced campaign used the carbon footprint of British beef and milk to promote the products, firstly stating: “British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average*.”
The asterisk linked to text that stated: “Full lifecycle emissions of CO2 eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg of beef.”
The ad for milk stated: “British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.”
Packham complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ads, and specifically the carbon footprint claims, were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy.
The AHDB said the ads’ mention of carbon emissions would be understood in relation to the environmental impact of beef and milk that occurred between the “cradle-to-retail” stages.
But the ASA said the average consumer “being reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect” would understand the claims to apply beyond the retail stage and include actions such as cooking and wastage.
The ASA said: “While we acknowledged the potential difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the claims in the ads suggested those emissions were included and we therefore expected the evidence provided to also include them.
“We therefore concluded that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the full life-cycle claims in the ads, which was how the average consumer was likely to interpret them.
“We reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full life cycle unless the ad stated otherwise.”
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, said: “Let’s Eat Balanced is doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards.
“Since the investigation began, we have conducted independent consumer research which found that the majority of respondents interpreted these adverts as relating to the production phase only, from farm to retail.
“This research provides important insight into consumer understanding and supports our belief that consumers were not misled by the information we shared in these two specific adverts.”
BENGALURU: India’s Gen Z workforce is embracing what experts describe as “portfolio careers” – balancing multiple professional identities and income streams simultaneously. New research from LinkedIn shows that 75% of Gen Z entrepreneurs in India now manage multiple income streams, significantly higher than the 62% among Gen X entrepreneurs. The findings point to a growing preference among younger professionals for flexibility, autonomy and diversified sources of income. “We’re also seeing the rise of the ‘portfolio era’, with more professionals creating multiple income streams and redefining what a career can look like. This shift is making entrepreneurship more accessible than ever before,” said LinkedIn India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman.Rather than depending on a single full-time role, many professionals are simultaneously building businesses, freelancing, consulting, creating online content and monetising specialised skills through digital platforms. The trend comes amid a broader rise in entrepreneurial activity in India. LinkedIn recorded a 104% year-on-year increase in members adding “Founder” to their profiles – the highest growth among all global markets.AI is also emerging as a major enabler of this shift. The report found that 85% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider AI and digital tools important to their business operations.
Sam Altman said Elon Musk tried many times for total control of OpenAI, which he’s now suing.
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