Ambani's Jio venture to launch free smartphone

Mumbai

INDIA'S richest man Mukesh Ambani said last Friday that his telecoms venture Jio would launch a free smartphone, escalating a price war that is shaking up the country's ultra-competitive mobile market.

The announcement, made at a boisterous Reliance Industries annual general meeting in Mumbai, sent shares in rival telecoms operator Bharti Airtel plummeting almost 6 per cent.