Reliance Industries To Hold Virtual AGM For The First Time In 2020

Reliance Industries Limited will be holding its annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders virtually for the first time on 15 July rather than its yearly tradition of holding it at the iconic Birla Matushree Sabhaghar in south Mumbai.

The decision was taken in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Earlier on 11 June, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the second most valuable Indian company after RIL, held its virtual AGM on 11 June.

In a regulatory filing, RIL said that "the 43rd AGM will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at 2 pm through video conferencing / other audio-visual means."

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has permitted to hold AGM through video conference / other audiovisual means without the physical presence of members at a common venue.

So far, all the post-IPO AGMs of Reliance have been physical meetings and a big-budget one. The company has been widely credited with having launched the equity culture in India and held AGMs in stadiums during times of its founder Dhirubhai Ambani.

In 1985, 12,000 of them attended the Reliance AGM at the Cooperage Football Ground in Mumbai's Colaba. The next year, around 35,000 attended it at the city's Cross Maidan.

Over the years, the AGMs got shifted to auditoriums even as its shareholder base swelled to over 24 lakh.

RIL's AGM is also keenly watched for input from the chairman. Last year, at the AGM on 12 August 2019, the billionaire chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani announced a roadmap for RIL to become a net-debt free company before 31 March 2021. Announcements regarding the listing of its consumer businesses-Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail was also made.

With inputs from PTI