Subramanian Swamy delivers verdict on 'long term' implication of mammoth Jio-Facebook deal

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday reacting to Facebook's announcement of investing Rs 43,575 crore in Jio Platforms for a 9.99 per cent stake said that the long-term interest for India arising from the behemoth deal had been missed, citing a favourable implication of Jio taking on board Facebook as a minority shareholder. 

He added that with the largest young population, social media launched in the West will be "Indianised". However, Swamy did not elaborately explain about the tweet. Nonetheless, the BJP leader has in the past as well been calling for the need of an Indian social media platform. 

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'Jio has brought more than 388 million people online'

Facebook in a statement said the investment "underscores our commitment to India and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country". "In less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online, fueling the creation of innovative new enterprises and connecting people in new ways. We are committed to connecting more people in India together with Jio," it added.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL said, "All of us at Reliance are therefore humbled by the opportunity to welcome Facebook as our long-term partner in continuing to grow and transform the digital ecosystem of India for the benefit of all Indians. The synergy between Jio and Facebook will help realise Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ Mission with its two ambitious goals — ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ – for every single category of Indian people without exception. In the post-Corona era, I am confident of India’s economic recovery and resurgence in the shortest period of time. The partnership will surely make an important contribution to this transformation.”

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Facebook's massive user-base in India

Together with WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook overall is estimated to have more users in India than any other single country. The number of internet users in India is projected to rise to about 850 million in 2022, according to consultancy PwC, up from 450 million in 2017. "The partnership between Facebook and Jio is unprecedented in many ways. This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the technology sector in India," RIL said.

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(With PTI inputs)