THE MAN WHO WOULD BE PRINCE: 'Dhirubhai will go one day.

But Reliance's employees and shareholders will keep it afloat.

Reliance is now a concept in which the Ambanis have become
irrelevant,' said Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, arguably India's
greatest entrepreneur ever, years before his death on July 6, 2002.

His words have proved prophetic, as the Reliance juggernaut

keeps rolling on towards excellence.

Dhirubhai rose from humble beginnings to found India's largest

industrial empire and, in the process, became one of the world's
richest men. He transformed the way big business operates and
thinks in India.

His death marked the end of a golden era in Indian

entrepreneurship, but his values continue to guide the Reliance
group, now run by his two sons, Mukesh and Anil.

HE CHANGED THE INDIAN STOCK MARKETS: Dhirubhai

was praised for his key role in shaping India's stock
market culture by attracting hordes of retail investors to a
market dominated by state-run financial institutions.

The history of the Indian market, there are two distinct

eras -- 'Before Dhirubhai' and 'After Dhirubhai'. In the first,
people invested in gold or land; the stock exchange was
an arena reserved for the rich.

But that changed forever when Reliance went public in

1977. Dhirubhai created a new class of Indians -- middle-
class investors. Buying into the Ambani legend was one of
the wisest decisions they ever made.
THE AMBANI MAGIC: Reliance Industries was listed in 1977 in one of the largest public stock offerings of its time and its annual
shareholders' meetings were so well attended they had to be held in a football stadium.

And Dhirubhai held his shareholders spellbound, paying high dividends and bonuses at a time when equities were seen as a low-return,
risky investment.

This made Dhirubhai Ambani a hero to shareholders. Original investors in the 1977 initial public offering have earned a compounded
annual rate of return of 43 per cent.
THE MASTER STRATEGIST: Dhirubhai's is not just the usual rags-to-riches
story. He will be remembered as the one who rewrote Indian corporate
history and built a truly global corporate group.

He was not a conformist, but those who chose to back Dhirbubhai's style of
doing business came up trumps. For, the 'Dhirubhai school of management'
firmly believed that the only thing which mattered at the end were results
and the benefits which accrued directly to the shareholders. And that is what
he passed on to his two sons -- Mukesh (right), the current chairman of the
group, and Anil, the vice chairman.

His biggest success was his ability to carry people with him. From brilliant
technocrats to financial whiz kids and high flier managers to small time
dealers and messenger boys.

Assisted by his sons, Dhirubhai, unlike some of the other corporates of

India, never had to face any internal revolt.

EVER THE FAMILY MAN: The Reliance patriarch, although busy

all through the day building India's largest private conglomerate
and interacting with the crème de la crème of the world's
political, entrepreneurial and social superstars, always had time
for his family.

He loved to play with his grandchildren, passing on qualities to

them that would mould their future.
 On June 16, 1998, Dhirubhai Ambani became first
Indian ever to be awarded the Wharton School
Dean's Medal.

A galaxy of politicians and entrepreneurs attended

the ceremony. Seen in the picture are former
defence minister of India Mulayam Singh yadav
(from the left), former Indian prime minister H D
Deve Gowda, Dhirubhai's wife Kokilaben, Dhirubhai
himself, and Thomas Gerrity, Dean of the Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania, United States.

Dhirubhai was conferred the Economic Times

Award for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime
Achievement in August 2001.

Seen in the picture are Bollywood superstar

Amitabh Bachchan (extreme left), Finance
Minister Yashwant Sinha (third from left),
Dhirubhai himself, and Dr Verghese Kurien,
Chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation.

He was conferred the lifetime achievement award

by India HRD Congress in February 2002. He was
thrice rated 'India's Most Admired CEO' in the
Business Barons-Taylor Nelson Sofres-Mode
survey in June 2001, 2000 and 1999.
Dhirubhai was picked by Asiaweek magazine as one of the 50 most powerful
people in Asia.

'If power is measured in face time with the leader of the free world, then
Ambani has it in spades,' said the magazine.

When he visited India, former US President Bill Clinton spent 45 minutes

with the 'Polyester Prince'. That was the measure of the power of the man.

Dhirubhai and his sons, Mukesh (left) and Anil (right), strike a happy pose
with the charismatic Bill Clinton.

THE PAST AND THE FUTURE: The question about

the future of Reliance group in the post-Dhirubhai
Ambani era haunted millions of small investors,
after the legend passed away.

But Dhirubhai had moulded his sons well. Mukesh

and Anil learnt the lesson from their father in the
art of market management, coupled with the
enhancement of shareholders' value that had
helped the patriarch build an investor cult -- and in
the process build a formidable business empire.

The Mukesh-Anil duo is carrying on Dhirubhai's

legacy, even as the Reliance group continues to
attain new heights.
 ONE YEAR AGO…: It will be one year on July 6, 2003 since the Reliance
patriarch passed away. But his group continues to reach dizzy heights
under the stewardship of his sons.

On July 6, President A P J Abdul Kalam will deliver the first Dhirubhai

Amabni Memorial Lecture, instituted in the memory of the late chairman of
Reliance Group of Industries, in Mumbai.

A host of distinguished businessmen, speakers and politicians will greet

the function.

The legend lives on…

'Nothing was impossible for Dhirubhai'

Kamlesh T Mody was closely associated with Dhirubhai Ambani, the late chairman of the Reliance Group, for over
three decades.

If you take a piece of ordinary glass, hold it over some shredded paper and let sunlight shine through, all you will have is a bright pile of
paper. But if you take a magnifying glass and focus the same sunlight on the paper, you can start a fire.

Winners focus, mastering the ability to accomplish. And Shri Dhirubhai was the master of masts.

This is the first lesson I learnt from him: be focussed on whatever you plan to do till you achieve it. I saw the same missionary zeal, the
same focus in him, right from Reliance's first public issue till the time he built the mammoth Jamnagar refinery. He was always open-
minded. He was hungry for new ideas and never discounted any idea or person. Even three years ago, when I visited him during Diwali, he
asked me if I had any new ideas for marketing in this new information age.

This was the second lesson I learnt from him: always be open-minded, because when you have an open mind you assimilate more,
become solution-oriented and make more progress in life.

He always taught us that nothing is impossible in this world. Once you conceive an idea and back it up with strong belief, you can definitely
succeed. 'Unrealistic goals' was a term missing from his dictionary. Right from textiles to refinery to drilling for oil, he found nothing
impossible.

In the seventies, his textile unit got recognition as one of the world's most modern textile mills, matching or even surpassing developed
nations' stringent standards. When the textile industry was passing through adverse times, he developed yarn-processing and went on to
become a giant in the global synthetic textiles industry.

He repeated the performance in petrochemicals, too.

I learnt yet another lesson from him: always look for ways to convert a crisis into an opportunity and think ahead of time. He was
enthusiastic, bubbling with excitement, eager for something new to do. He exuded optimism and whenever I met him I could feel a lot of
that positive energy rub off on to me. He encouraged me to increase business volumes and grab the opportunity whenever I chanced by
one.

He believed enthusiasm is the fuel of life, it helps you to get where you're going. That was the fourth lesson I learnt from him. He was a big
dreamer. He always believed that he was worthy of his dream. He said you will become the person you believe yourself to be. He
ceaselessly inspired us to think big and make our dream the purpose of life.

When you are propped up by strong self-belief and single-minded determination to chase and achieve your dream, you become absolutely
unstoppable, was his mantra. This was the best lesson I learnt in my life from him.

Quotes By Dhirubhai Amabni

 • I have trusted people and they have put their trust in me. I have encouraged youth, and they have never let me down. I have
asked my people to take initiative and to take risks. It has paid me rich dividends. I insist on excellence. This helps us to be
leaders. Reliance is built on some of these principles.
• I am not a loser.
• The secret of success was to have ambition and to know the minds of men.
• Change your orbit, constantly!
• Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it.
• Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one's monopoly.
• Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for
Reliance and for India.
• You do not require an invitation to make profits.
• If you work with determination and with perfection, success will follow.
• Pursue your goals even in the face of difficulties, and convert adversities into opportunities.
• Give the youth a proper environment. Motivate them. Extend them the support they need. Each one of them has infinite source
of energy. They will deliver.
• Between my past, the present and the future, there is one common factor: Relationship and Trust. This is the foundation of our
growth.
• We bet on people.
• Meeting the deadlines is not good enough, beating the deadlines is my expectation.
• Don't give up, courage is my conviction.
• They slept on the floor and had no telephone or car...like the rest of us. Anil Ambani was born here.~ Ramchandra
Belgaonkar, a tax consultant
• Dhirubhai Ambani had an ambitious plan of converting the deserts of Rajasthan into fertile lands. This was one of the dream
project plans he narrated to me two years ago in great detail when my wife and I called upon him at his Mumbai residence.

When I asked him about his future plans, he gave me a half-an-hour lecture on how sea water could be used to generate steam
and then after use conveyed to Rajasthan through a pipeline to make it a fertile land.

Achievements / Awards for Mr Dhirubhai H. Ambani

Title Date

The Economic Times - Lifetime Achievement Award 10.08.2001

TNS-Mode Survey - India's Most Admired CEO 26.07.1999

Chemtech Foundation - Man of the Century Award 08.11.2000

FICCI - Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century Award 24.03.2000

Asia Week - Dhirubhai among Asia's 50 most powerful

people
29.05.1998
The Excerpt from Asia Week 1998 26.05.2000
The Excerpt from Asia Week 2000
The Times of India - Dhirubhai Ambani voted "Creator 08.01.2000
of Wealth" of the Century
Business Baron - Dhirubhai Ambani voted "Indian 06.12.1999
Businessman of the Century" 31.10.1999
The complete cover story
Dhirubhai Ambani in Asia Week Hall of Fame 16.10.1998
The cover story
Wharton's Dean Medal for Dhirubhai Ambani 15.06.1998

Business Week - Dhirubhai Ambani one of "The Stars of

Asia" 29.06.1998
The complete cover story
Business India - Dhirubhai Ambani, Businessman of the 31.10.1999
Year 1993