Ambani’s key aide PMS Prasad to oversee Reliance Jio’s 4G roll-out

PMS PrasadReliance Industries Ltd (RIL) executive director PMS Prasad has been assigned with the additional responsibility of spearheading the company's 4G services rollout plans, a source with direct knowledge of the matter revealed.

PMS Prasad, who is currently spearheading the company's oil & gas business, will reportedly now also oversee the roll out of 4G wireless broadband services, which will likely be launched in October this year, starting with south India.

The source said 61-year-old Prasad, who is also on RIL's board, would keep on overseeing the company's oil & gas business.

Prasad is a Reliance veteran. He has worked closely with Reliance Group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani - Mukesh Ambani's father. He had joined the undivided Reliance Group from Schlumberger's African subsidiary more than three decades back.

Prasad's new job indicates that Mukesh Ambani wants to deploy the best resources from his company to make the roll out its fourth-generation wireless broadband services a great success. His son Akash has already joined Reliance Jio Info.

The company's telecom arm bought spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band for Rs 11,000 crore in the recently held auction. With cash reserves of nearly Rs 89,000 crore in its pockets, RIL's telecom foray is seen as a game changer for the company as well as the industry.