Akash Ambani new chairman of Reliance Jio; Mukesh Ambani steps down

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani resigned from the board of Reliance Jio, the group's telecom subsidiary, and handed over the chairmanship to elder son Akash. The move, which surprised the industry, is seen as part of succession planning by the 65-year-old industrialist.

Reliance Jio Infocomm said in a stock exchange filing that the company's board at a meeting on June 27, "approved the appointment of Akash M Ambani, non-executive director, as chairman of the board of directors of the company." This comes after his father resigned with effect from close of working hours on June 27, it said.

Ambani's close confident Pankaj Mohan Pawar has been appointed as managing director of the company for five years beginning June 27, it said.