MUMBAI: In a significant announcement, Mukesh Ambani today took a step towards executing a succession plan for the family-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) the oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate.

Addressing the shareholders at RIL's 46th annual general meeting (AGM), he announced that while his wife Nita Ambani who has been on the board since 2014 has stepped down and their children Isha, Anant, and Akash Ambani are now inducted in the board of RIL. Nita will however continue to remain the chairman of Reliance Foundation a subsidiary of RIL.

While making the announcement Ambani the 65-year-old tycoon who was himself re-appointed as the chairman and managing director for five more years, said that he saw traits of himself and his father Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of RIL in his three children, Isha, Akash, and Anant, who were appointed to the board of the company on Monday.

Remembering the time when he was inducted into the company,  said, "This is truly an emotional moment for me because it reminds me of that day in 1977 when my father inducted me into the Board of Directors of Reliance. I was only 20 then."

Like his three children, the diversified empire also has three broad businesses, the traditional and core oil refining and petrochemicals under RIL, retail business in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), and telecom and digital services under the Jio Platforms.

The siblings have been on the board of these operating subsidiary companies but this is the first time they have been appointed on the board of the parent firm.

Last year, Mukesh Ambani, 66, had made way for Akash Ambani 31, to become the chairman of India's largest mobile firm, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

Akash's twin sister, Isha, who is married to Ajay and Swati Piramal's son Anand Piramal was identified for Reliance's retail arm, and the youngest sibling, Anant is slated to head the new energy business.

Ambani reiterated this in an address, "Akash and Isha have assumed leadership roles in Jio and Retail respectively. They have been passionately involved in our consumer businesses since inception," he said," further adding, "Anant has also joined our new energy business with great zeal. In fact, he is spending most of his time in Jamnagar."

Ambani first spoke of a succession plan in December 2021 on the occasion of Reliance Family Day, which also marked the 89th birth anniversary of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani when he announced that the group was now in the process of effecting a momentous leadership transition.

He had said, "From seniors belonging to my generation to the next generation of young leaders, I would like this process to be accelerated."

It would be noteworthy to mention soon after the death of Dhirubhai Ambani his two sons, Mukesh and his younger brother Anil Ambani got engaged in a bitter battle for inheritance and control.

Dhirubhai passed away on June 6, 2002, without leaving a will for the multi-crore business empire he had set up from scratch, and in 2005 it was their mother, Kokilaben who brokered a demerger of the group giving  Mukesh control of oil and gas while Anil took hold over electricity, telecom, and financial services.