Tag: mukesh ambani

‘CBDC and Blockchain’: Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services Set to Make Web3 Foray

Mukesh Ambani, one of the world’s richest men settled in India’s financial capital, is prepared to explore the Web3 arena. The 66-year-old Indian billionaire disclosed his Web3-related plans during the 46th annual general meeting of Reliance Industries (RIL) that was held on Monday. While the Reliance chief aims to keep a distance from highly volatile crypto assets for now, he does plan to explore the fields of blockchain and centralised digital currencies — including the eRupee CBDC — which is currently in advanced trials in India.

Ambani’s Jio Financial Services (JFS) will be the brand’s point of entry into the Web3 sector. JFS is the financial investment arm of Reliance Industries that was initially named Reliance Strategic Investments and was rebranded in July this year. Through JFS, RIL will offer management services for digital assets. As part of its plan, JFS has already struck a partnership with BlackRock, which is among world’s largest investment services provider that held assets worth $100.07 billion as of August 18.

“JFS will consolidate its payment infrastructure further driving digital adoption for India. JFS products will explore pathbreaking features such as blockchain-based platforms and CBDC,” Ambani stated on Monday.

Blockchain

Blockchain is the underlaying distributed ledger technology, that provides the foundational support for all the elements of Web3 including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, CBDCs, as well as the metaverse. Blockchain-based protocols can be automated and decentralised, which could eliminate the need for any middleman or intermediary to facilitate financial transactions.

In addition, information stored on the blockchain is divided into small packages and spread across the network, which makes it more resistant to malicious changes and breaches as opposed to traditional servers.

States like Maharashtra and Telangana are already leveraging the power of blockchain to fine-tune their healthcare and agriculture initiatives.

CBDC

A central bank digital currency or CBDC, is the virtual representation of any fiat currency, supported on blockchain networks. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is also working on introducing its own CBDC in India.

CBDCs function like cryptocurrencies, but they are regularised and issued by the central banks. CBDCs not only smoothen online payment systems, but also reduce dependency on cash notes that could be cost efficient for the RBI.

India’s CBDC called the eRupee is already in its advanced trial stages with multiple large state-owned and private lenders participating in these trials alongside select small, medium, and big level merchants.

The Reliance connection

The businesses owned and run under Ambani’s RIL includes Jio’s network services, general stores, and petrol pumps among others. RIL’s foray into blockchain and eRupee could have many Indians engage with these new-age technologies in the months to come.

In April this year, Reliance General Insurance said it had begun accepting the eRupee CBDC for premium payments.

Earlier in February, Reliance Retail had also announced that it would begin using India’s digital rupee CBDC across its stores in Mumbai. At the time, V Subramaniam, the managing director at Reliance Retail said he believed that the CBDC would be “better than the UPI system”.

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Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani Push Artificial Intelligence Plans: Jio Promises AI to Everyone, Everywhere in India

Jio Platforms is keen to lead efforts in developing India-specific AI models and AI-powered solutions across domains, delivering the benefit of this new-age technology to Indian citizens, businesses and government, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Monday promising “AI to everyone, everywhere.”

Terming Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the most exciting frontier of growth for Jio, Ambani outlined ambitious plans on this front at the 46th AGM of Reliance Industries.

Ambani pledged the company’s commitment to create up to 2,000 MW of AI-ready computing capacity, across both cloud and edge locations, while adopting sustainable practices and a greener future.

A global AI revolution is reshaping the world and intelligent applications will redefine and revolutionise industries, economies, and even daily life, sooner than expected, the RIL top honcho said.

To stay globally competitive, India must harness AI for innovation, growth, and national prosperity, he asserted.

“Here is my promise to our countrymen. Seven years ago, Jio promised broadband connectivity to everyone, everywhere. We have delivered. Today Jio promises AI to everyone, everywhere. And we shall deliver,” he vowed.

Within the RIL group, talent pool and capabilities are being augmented to swiftly assimilate the latest global innovations in AI, especially the recent advances in generative AI.

“Looking ahead, Jio Platforms wants to lead the effort in developing India-specific AI models and AI-powered solutions across domains, thereby delivering the benefit of AI to Indian citizens, businesses and government alike,” he said.

India has the scale, the data, and the talent, Ambani noted.

“But we also need digital infrastructure in India that can handle AI’s immense computational demands. As this sector expands, we stand committed to creating up to 2,000 MW of AI-ready computing capacity, across both cloud and edge locations…Over the next five years, we plan to shift most of our energy footprint in connectivity and digital services to green energy, which is not just eco-friendly but also lower cost,” he said.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Reliance to Demerge Financial Services Arm, List Jio Financial Services on Stock Exchanges

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited on Friday said it will demerge its financial services arm and list it on the stock exchanges.

In a statement, the firm said Reliance shareholders will be issued one equity share of Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) for every share they hold in the company.

JFSL plans to launch consumer and merchant lending business while continuing to evaluate organic growth, joint-venture partnerships as well as inorganic opportunities in insurance, asset management and digital broking segments, it said.

“The Board of Directors of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), at its meeting held today (Friday), approved a Scheme of Arrangement amongst RIL, Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL) and their respective shareholders and creditors in terms of which, RIL will demerge its financial services undertaking into RSIL (to be renamed Jio Financial Services Limited or JFSL),” it said.

JFSL would be listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

RSIL is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL and an RBI-registered non-deposit-taking systemically important non-banking financial company.

“Pursuant to the scheme, shareholders of RIL will receive one equity share of JFSL of face value Rs. 10 for one fully paid-up equity share of Rs. 10 held in RIL,” the statement said.

Also, the investment of RIL in Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), which is a part of the financial services undertaking of RIL, will stand transferred to JFSL.

JFSL will acquire liquid assets to provide adequate regulatory capital for lending to consumers and merchants, as well as incubate other financial services verticals such as insurance, payments, digital broking, and asset management for at least the next 3 years of business operations.

“The regulatory licenses for the key businesses are in place,” it said.

JFS’s structure enables it to partner with strategic or financial investors with an enhanced strategic focus to support the company’s growth drivers, the firm said.

The transaction is subject to customary statutory and regulatory approvals, including from NCLT, stock exchanges, SEBI and RBI.

Commenting on the demerger, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL, said: “JFS will be a truly transformational, customer-centric and digital-first financial services enterprise offering simple, affordable, innovative and intuitive financial services products to all Indians.” JFS, he said, will be a technology-led business, delivering financial products digitally by leveraging the nationwide omnichannel presence of Reliance’s consumer businesses.

“JFS is uniquely positioned to capture multiple growth opportunities in financial services bringing millions of Indians into formal financial institutions,” he said.

The Indian financial services sector presents a large, under-penetrated and growing addressable market, especially for retail and small-business-focused product categories.

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Jio 5G Services to Roll Out Across India by December 2023, Says Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Jio, the nation’s biggest telecom firm, will expand 5G telephony services offering ultra high-speed internet connectivity to every part of the country by December 2023, its chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Saturday. Jio had in September 2016 made an entry into the telecom sector, offering free voice calls and dirt-cheap data, forcing the competition to either match or fold up/consolidate.

Ambani has now promised affordable 5G services. “Today, I want to reiterate Jio‘s commitment to deliver 5G to every town, every taluka, and every tehsil of our country by December 2023,” he said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) conference here.

Ambani at his flagship Reliance Industries’ annual shareholder meeting in August announced the rollout of 5G services for four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali.

Most of Jio’s 5G is developed in India, and hence carries the stamp of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, he said, adding 5G and 5G-enabled digital solutions can bring affordable and high-quality education and skill development within the reach of common Indians.

It can deliver high-quality healthcare to rural and remote areas by turning existing hospitals into smart hospitals without much additional investment, making the services of the best doctors digitally available anywhere in India as well as improving the speed and accuracy of diagnostics and enabling real-time clinical decision making.

5G can also bridge the gap between urban and rural India by accelerating digitisation and intelligent data management of agriculture, services, trade, industry, informal sector, transportation and energy infrastructure, he said.

“By bringing AI into every domain, 5G can power India’s emergence as the world’s intelligence capital. This will help India become a major exporter of high-value digital solutions and services,” he said, adding all these will trigger a huge explosion of entrepreneurship in the country, which in turn will attract even larger investments and create millions of new jobs.

Ambani said by harnessing the combined power of demography and digital technologies, India can become the world’s leading digital society, accelerating growth by making India a $40 trillion (roughly Rs. 3,265 lakh crore) economy by 2047, up from $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 245 lakh crore) now and increasing per capita income rapidly to over $20,000 (roughly Rs. 16,33,000) from $2,000 (roughly Rs. 1,63,000).

“It will not be an exaggeration to say that 5G is like a Digital Kamadhenu, the heavenly cow that grants whatever we desire,” he said.

With 5G, India will take longer and faster strides towards ‘Sab Ka Digital Saath and Sab Ka Digital Vikas’, he said. “India may have started a little late, but we’ll finish first by rolling out 5G services that are of higher quality and more affordable than anywhere else in the world,” Ambani said 5G is much more than just the next generation of connectivity technology, offering foundational technology that unlocks the full potential of other transformative technologies like artificial intelligence, internet of things, robotics, blockchain, and the metaverse.

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Reliance Jio AirFiber, Jio Cloud PC Announced During Reliance AGM 2022: Details Here

Jio AirFiber and Jio Cloud PC services were introduced during Reliance Industries’ 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday. The JioAirFiber allow users to access Gigabit-speed Internet without any wires while the Jio Cloud PC is a virtual PC that is hosted in the cloud using without any hardware requirement. Reliance Jio has branded its fifth-generation mobile network service as Jio True 5G and both the Jio AirFiber and Jio Cloud PC will work based on this service.

Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, during the 45th AGM of RIL, demonstrated the new Jio AirFiber and Jio Cloud PC. As mentioned, the JioAirFiber lets users access Gigabit-speed Internet through wireless networks at home and offices.

The JioAirFiber Home Gateway is a wireless single device that can be plugged into the power source and will work as a Wi-Fi hotspot. It will be connected to high-speed Internet using Jio’s True 5G.

The Jio Cloud PC, on the other hand, is essentially a virtual PC that is hosted in the cloud through the Jio True 5G connectivity. The concept replaces physical laptops and desktops and comes without any major hardware requirements. It can be used to connect multiple PCs and users need to pay only to the extent used.

Reliance Jio has earmarked Rs. 2 lakh crore investment for rolling out 5G services in India in the next two months.

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Reliance Jio Reports 24 Percent Rise in Q2 Profit to Rs. 4,335 Crore, Ahead of Upcoming 5G Auction: Details

India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm on Friday reported a nearly 24 percent year-on-year rise in its standalone net profit to Rs. 4,335 crore for the June 2022 quarter. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio clocked revenue from operations of Rs. 21,873 crore in the just-ended quarter, which was 21.5 percent higher than the year-ago period, according to a filing.

Jio’s Q1 scorecard comes at a time when the telecom market is poised for the advent of 5G services, which will usher in ultra-high speeds (about 10 times faster than 4G) and bring new-age services and business models.

The countdown to 5G spectrum auctions has begun, and a total of 72 GHz of radiowaves worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the upcoming auction, scheduled to begin on July 26.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Reliance Jio Infocomm had submitted an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs. 14,000 crore ahead of its participation in the upcoming 5G auction, while Bharti Airtel has put in Rs. 5,500 crore. Vodafone Idea has put in an EMD of Rs. 2,200 crore.

According to the list of pre-qualified bidders posted on the telecom department’s website, the EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stands at Rs. 100 crore. With its EMD at Rs. 14,000 crore, the eligibility points assigned to Jio for the auction stand at 1,59,830, the highest in the list of four bidders.

Typically, EMD amounts give a broad indication of players’ appetite, strategy and plan for picking up spectrum in an auction. It also determines the eligibility points, through which telcos target specific amount of spectrum in a given circle.

The eligibility points allocated to Airtel are 66,330, while that of Vodafone Idea are 29,370. Adani Data Networks received eligibility points of 1,650, based on its deposit. The 5G spectrum auction is scheduled to start on July 26.

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Adani Group to Compete With Rival Mukesh Ambani’s Jio in 5G Spectrum Auction, Aims to Set Up Private Network

For years they tiptoed around each other but now the groups led by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani will for the first time be in direct competition when they later this month participate in the auction of airwaves capable of providing fifth generation or 5G telecom services.

But the rivalry between the two politically well-connected Gujarati businessmen will not yet see a full-blown market clash despite overlaps.

On Saturday, Adani group confirmed plans to participate in the July 26 5G spectrum auction but said the airwaves it was seeking was to set up a private network to help digitise its businesses from airports to energy to data centres. This meant no entry into the consumer mobile telephony space, where Ambani’s Reliance Jio is the largest player.

Jio as well as telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd — the other two dominated telecom companies in the country — have also made applications to participate in the 5G auction, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

While the three will be bidding to corner spectrum to support a pan-India rollout of 5G voice and data services, Adani will compete to get the same airwaves for private captive networks.

Incidentally, the telecom companies in the run-up for the auction bitterly opposed any direct allocation of spectrum to non-telecom entities for setting up private captive networks as it would severely impact their businesses. They wanted the non-telcos to lease out spectrum from them or they set up private captive networks for them. But the government weighed in favour of private networks.

Adani and Ambani — the nation’s richest — had taken contrasting approaches to business diversification, which in recent months has seen increasing overlap.

While Ambani, 65, expanded from the oil refining and petrochemicals business into consumer facing telecom and retail businesses, Adani diversified from operating ports to producing coal, energy distribution, airports, data centres and more recently into cement and copper.

Adani, 60, has in recent months set up a subsidiary for a foray into petrochemicals — a business that Ambani’s father Dhirubhai began with before its downstream and upstream operations.

Ambani too has announced multi-billion-dollar plans for new energy business, including Giga factories for solar panels, batteries, green hydrogen and fuel cells. Adani, who had previously announced plans to be the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030, too has unveiled hydrogen ambitions.

Sources, however, said while there is an overlap in the clean energy space, there is no direct competition between the two. While Adani group is looking to split water using solar power to produce green hydrogen, Ambani’s Reliance is looking at producing hydrogen from natural gas and other hydrocarbons supported by carbon capture and storage.

“Where is the direct competition,” a source asked. “Adani will desalinate sea water for use in electrolysers to produce green hydrogen while Ambani is looking to decarbonise his oil business.” And while they will have a face-off at the spectrum auction, there will be no direct competition on ground yet, another source said.

Reliance owns the world’s largest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat and is also a leading manufacturer of polymers, polyester and fiber-intermediates. Adani, on the other hand, is focused on coal in the hydrocarbon space, with mines in India, Indonesia and Australia, and thermal power plants.

While Ambani made a slew of investments in clean energy space, Adani’s petrochemical ambitions came unstuck twice — Covid pandemic led to shelving of a USD 4 billion acrylics complex near Mundra in Gujarat that was planned in collaboration with BASF SE, Borealis AG and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc), and a plant with Taiwan’s CPC Corp too couldn’t make much headway.

But their balance sheets are quite different. While Adani group firms have borrowed, Ambani has ploughed cash generated from traditional oil refining and petrochemicals business into newer areas.

Ambani raised $27 billion (roughly Rs. 2700 crore) in 2020 from the likes of Facebook, Google and an array of private equity funds. Adani, which has sold stakes in the renewable energy firm, gas distribution company and new energy unit to France’s TotalEnergies SE, isn’t lagging with $17 billion (roughly Rs. 1700 crore) spent on 32 acquisitions.

On Saturday, Adani said the spectrum it intends to buy is “to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security in the airport, ports and logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution, and various manufacturing operations.” Adani Group plans to use the airwaves for its data centre as well as the super app it is building to support businesses from electricity distribution to airports, gas retailing to ports.

“As we build our own digital platform encompassing super apps, edge data centres, and industry command and control centres, we will need ultra high quality data streaming capabilities through a high frequency and low latency 5G network across all our businesses,” it had said in a statement.

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Adani Group Said to Enter Telecom Spectrum Race, to Face Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group is said to be planning a surprise entry into the race to acquire telecom spectrum, which will pitch it directly against Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel, sources said.

Applications for participating in the July 26 auction of airwaves, including those capable of providing fifth-generation or 5G telecom services such as ultra-high-speed internet connectivity, closed on Friday with at least four applications.

Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea – the three private players in the telecom sector – applied, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The fourth applicant is Adani Group, one of the sources said, adding that the group had recently obtained National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

But this could not be independently confirmed. Email and phone calls made to the Adani Group did not elicit any response.

As per the auction timelines, ownership details of applicants are to be published on July 12 and the bidders should be known then.

A total of 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the auction, set to commence on July 26, 2022.

The auction will be held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.

Ambani and Adani, who hail from Gujarat and went on to build mega business groups, had till recently not had a direct face-off. While the former expanded from the oil and petrochemicals business into telecom and retail, the latter diversified from the ports segment to coal, energy distribution and aviation.

But increasingly, their interests are overlapping, setting what some say is the stage for a clash.

Adani has in the recent months set up a subsidiary for a foray into petrochemicals – a business that Ambani’s father Dhirubhai began with before its downstream and upstream operations.

Ambani too has announced multi-billion-dollar plans for new energy business, including Giga factories for solar panels, batteries, green hydrogen and fuel cells. Adani, who had previously announced plans to be the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030, too has unveiled hydrogen ambitions.

And now, if the Adani group participates in the 5G auction on July 26, it will be the first direct competition with Ambani.

The Cabinet, last month, approved 5G auctions at reserve prices recommended by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The regulator had recommended an about 39 per cent cut in floor price for the sale of 5G spectrum for mobile services.

The validity of the right to use spectrum will be of 20 years.

Overall, the payment terms have been eased for bidders in the upcoming auction.

For the first time ever, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders.

Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual installments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year, a relaxation that is expected to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector.

The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance installments. No SUC (spectrum usage charges) will be levied for the spectrum acquired in this auction.

While the 5G spectrum in nine frequency bands will be auctioned to telecom operators, the Notice Inviting Applications – the bid-related document issued by the Telecom Department – said tech firms will be allowed to take the 5G spectrum for their captive non-public network on lease from the telecom companies.

The bid document said direct allocation of spectrum to tech companies will follow a demand study and sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation on aspects such as pricing and modalities of such allocation.

The decision on private networks is seen as a dampener for telcos, which had been arguing that if independent entities are allowed to set up private captive networks with direct 5G spectrum allotment by the telecom department, the business case of TSPs (Telecom Service Providers) will get severely degraded.

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IPL Media Rights: Amazon Pulls Out of Bidding War, Viacom18 is Strongest Contender, Says BCCI

The much-anticipated duel between Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani for acquisition of one of world’s costliest sporting properties won’t materialise now as OTT giants Amazon on Friday pulled out of IPL media rights bidding, scheduled to start on Sunday.

Reliance Industries Limited owned Viacom18 is considered to be one of the strongest contenders both in TV and digital space.

Bezos-funded Amazon was expected to be one of the biggest bidders in digital space but pulled out of the race without revealing the reason.

“Yes, Amazon is out of the race. They didn’t join the technical bidding process today. As far as Google (YouTube) is concerned, they had picked up the bid document but didn’t submit it. As of now, 10 companies (TV and streaming) are in fray,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

A four-way battle —There are four specific packages in which e-auction will be conducted for 74 games per season for a five-year period from 2023-to 2027 with a provision of increasing the number of matches to 94 in the final two years.

The Package A has Indian sub-continent exclusive TV (broadcast) rights while Package B covers digital rights for Indian sub-continent.

The Package C is for 18 selected games in each season for digital space while Package D (all games) will be for combined TV and digital rights for overseas markets.

“Let’s make it clear, the Viacom 18 JV (Joint Venture), current rights holder Walt Disney (Star), Zee and Sony are the four contenders for the packages with solid footprints in both TV and digital market,” the official said.

Some of the other contenders, primarily for digital space are: Times Internet, FunAsia, Dream11, FanCode while Sky Sports (UK) and Supersport (South Africa) will be vying for overseas TV and digital rights.

The last time, Star India bought rights for both TV and digital with a composite bid of Rs. 16,347.50 crore but this time the composite base price is more than Rs. 32,000 crore.

All bidders will have to make separate bids for each package, this time.

As of Friday, some of the big players who are involved with the bidding process, feel that Rs. 45,000 crore is the amount that BCCI could expect which will be a two-and-a-half times increase in valuation.

PTI has prepared ‘Ready Reckoner’ for IPL Media Rights

Q: What are the dates of media rights auction?

A: It is expected to be for two days — June 12 and 13.

Q: What is the period of IPL Media Rights?

A: The period is for five years from 2023-2027.

Q: Number of matches per season?

A: It is 74 with provision of going up to 94 in last 2 seasons.

Q: What is current valuation of IPL Media Rights?

A: Rs 16,347.50 crore for both TV and Digital with Star India.

Q: What are the packages on offer?

A: TV Rights for Indian sub-continent at Rs. 49 crore per game.

B: Digital Rights for Indian sub-continent at Rs. 33 crore per game.

C: 18-match, non-exclusive digital package at Rs. 11 crore per game.

D: Overseas TV and Digital Rights at Rs. 3 crore per game.

Q: What is composite base price for all packages?

A: Total composite base price for all four packages is Rs. 32,440 crore.

Break-up: Package A is Rs. 18,130 crore (74x49x5) Package B is Rs. 12,210 crore (74x33x5) Package C is Rs. 990 crore (18x11x5) Package D is Rs. 1110 crore (74x3x5)

Q: Which are major companies bidding?

A: There are 10 companies in fray: Viacom18 JV (Joint Venture) with Lupa Systems (Uday Shankar and James Murdoch), Walt Disney (Star), Zee, Sony (both India media and digital rights).

Times Internet, Fan Code, FunAsia, Dream11 (only digital rights).

Supersport (South Africa) and Sky Sports (UK) vying for Overseas TV and Digital rights.

Q: Can one entity make a composite bid like Star did last time?

A: No. Every package will be awarded to highest bidder.

For example, Facebook had presented highest digital bid for Rs. 3900 crore in 2017 but Star grabbed the rights with a huge composite bid despite lower digital bid.

Q: Can one entity get two packages?

A: Yes, that is possible.Suppose, if Star has the highest bid for India TV rights (Package A) for an ‘x’ amount and Sony places the highest bid for India digital rights for ‘y’ amount, both the companies can challenge each other in a tie-breaker.

Q: Which package could see a close fight?

A: Package C, which has non-exclusive rights for 18 games that include opening game, final, three play-offs and a few weekend double headers.

All major players (Viacom, Zee, Sony, Star) would like to own this digital package. If a company wins India digital rights and loses out on non-exclusive rights, then it loses out on massive revenue (advertisement plus subscriptions) for those 18 games which can be accessed at any other platforms. Companies would like to buy it to kill competition.

Q: What is the type of auction that is being held?

A: Just like last time, it will be e-auction where companies can raise their bid by Rs. 50 crore at one go. E-auction is transparent but time- consuming.

Q: What is kind of money expected by the BCCI?

A: The BCCI is expecting that over and above their Rs. 32,440 crore composite base price, it could earn another Rs. 12,000 to 12,500 crore which may take the valuation up to Rs. 45,000.

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