watch?v=O7q-y1kBZOcMukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ltd plans to open a total of 45 stores of its books and music retailing business—Reliance TimeOut—across India over the next 3-5 years.

The multi-format retailer, which operates seven stores of TimeOut, said it wants to tap India’s Rs3,500 crore book retailing industry, of which only 40% is organised.

Reliance Retail will expand through the cost-effective model of revenue-sharing format with property owners.

Reliance Retail, business head, Reliance TimeOut, Deepinder Kapany said that the TimeOut format was the ‘biggest beneficiary’ of the economic meltdown of the past year as books, music and stationary continued their sales momentum even as most lifestyle and value retailers world-over grappled with depressed sales.

“In the next 3-5 years (or December 2014), we will have a total of 45 TimeOut outlets across four states-mainly in western and southern India. Our strategy is to first saturate a town, then a state followed by the entire region,” Kapany said.

He said that the next couple of months will see five stores being opened in Mumbai.

“The next few stores in 2010 will come up in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. We want to saturate Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and the National Capital Region (NCR),” Kapany said.

This is part of an overall aggressive expansion strategy by the format, which will enter Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Mysore, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Baroda and Jamnagar.

“This is one format which has grown. On an average day, we had footfalls of at least 4,000 to 4,500 in our Delhi and Bangalore stores respectively. Our same store sales growth has been 26% this year,” he said, but declined to reveal revenues for the format.

Kapany said that TimeOut reserves 40% of its shelf space for books, 20% for music and 10% for toys and games.

The remaining 30% space is equally divided between stationary items and gifts, watches and fragrances.

Reliance Retail last week opened a 10,000 sq ft TimeOut store in Mumbai. The company already operates a 42,000 sqft store in Gurgaon and another 21,000 sq ft store in Bangalore among other smaller sized stores.

R Ravimohan, executive director for Reliance Industries who was appointed to its board earlier this year, passed away on Monday, a company statement said. Mr. Ravimohan passed away unexpectedly, on late evening on Monday, December 28, 2009 at the age of 52.

Mr.Ravimohan attended the puja that was organized yesterday on account of the birth anniversary of founder chairman, late Shri Dhirubhai Ambani to pay his homage. He was to leave for Jamnagar today, Tuesday for a business tour.

Mr. Ravimohan was a chemical engineer and had completed the advanced management programme from Harvard Business School. He is survived by his wife Madhuralakshmi, daughter Hridaya and son Jagad.

Mr. Ravimohan has previously served as Crisil’s chairman and Standard & Poor’s managing director and regional head for South and Southeast Asia and is credited with building Crisil into the largest rating, financial and business research and advisory service company in India. Ravimohan was appointed on the Board of Directors of Reliance Industries earlier this year. He was one of the key negotiators along with Manoj Modi and Alok Agrawal in the Lyondell Basell deal.

Mr. Ravimohan had developed excellent rapport and camaraderie with Mukesh Ambani, Manoj Modi and other directors of the company during his short yet memorable stint at RIL.

Chairman and Managing Director or RIL, Mukesh Ambani stated, “We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Ravimohan. He was a keen supporter of Reliance Industries and a very dear friend. On behalf of all of us at Reliance Industries, I offer my heartfelt condolences to Ravi’s family and many friends.”

Source: Official Statement by RIL

Reliance Industries (RIL), India’s biggest private company by sales and market value has appointed Walter Van De Vivjer as president and chief executive officer chief executive officer of its international business subsidiary Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC (REP).

Mr. Van De Vivjer has been associated with  Reliance as a consultant over the past three years. He will succeed Atul Chandra, who will work with the chairman’s office as senior adviser on international business opportunities, said an RIL statement released on Thursday.

According to the statement, Mr Van De Vivjer will be responsible for overseeing the operations of RIL’s current portfolio of international assets, and he would also focus on developing the company’s E&P portfolio in North America and other high potential foreign countries.

Reliance Group, with a cash reserve of $4 billion, has been aggressively scouting for opportunities to acquire energy assets overseas. Over the years, it has successfully acquired oil assets in Yemen, Oman, East Timor, Columbia, Kurdistan and Australia. Last month, it has put in a non-binding preliminary bid to acquire the Dutch petrochem company LyondellBasell.

Mr Van De Vivjer was formerly associated with the global oil company Royal Dutch Shell. During his association with Shell for over 25 year, Mr Van De Vivjer has gained extensive technical and managerial experience in both the upstream and downstream oil industries in various countries, including the Netherlands, the UK, the US, Qatar and Oman. He left Shell in 2004.

Mr Van De Vivjer, a civil engineer from Delft University of Technology, had also served as CEO and co-founder of Delta Hydrocarbons BV.

Reliance Industries (RIL), the country’s largest private sector company, has announced its third successive gas discovery in the exploration block KG-DWN-2003/1 (KG-V-D3), of NELP-V. The deepwater block KG-DWN-2003/1 is located in the Krishna basin, about 45 kilometers off the coast in the Bay of Bengal. The block covers an area of 3288 square kilometres. RIL holds a 90 per cent participating interest (PI) and Hardy Exploration and Production India Inc holds the rest.

The well KGV-D3-R1, the third in this block was drilled at a water depth of 1982 m and to a total measured depth of 4113 m. The objective was to explore the Miocene deep water lobe and onlapping wedges play fairway. Three reservoir zones were encountered at Miocene Level having gross thickness of 4, 23 and 16 metres. The potential of these were evaluated through a wire-line based technology called Reservoir Characterization Imager (RCI).

The discovery namely “Dhirubhai – 44” has been notified to the government of India and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. The potential commerciality of the discovery is being ascertained through more data gathering and analysis.

The discovery supplements RIL’s understanding, of the petroleum systems within the block. 3D seismic has been acquired over the entire block area. Besides the above discoveries, several prospects have been mapped at different stratigraphic levels to fulfill the balance minimum work commitment of three wells.

Reliance Industries is likely to drill three additional exploration wells on the block before the end of 2010. In August 2005, Reliance and HEPI were awarded D3 block under NELP-V. Reliance is the operator of the block.

Exploration drilling commenced on this block in 2008.

Founding –
Reliance Logistics Private Limited was established in the year 2001 as part of the Reliance Group and subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited. RLPL has been established as an integrated logistics company that offers solutions for transportation, distribution, warehousing, logistics and supply chain needs. RLPL is an asset based company that has its own fleet, infrastructure and workforce to help manage the supply chain of a business.

Important past events –

Reliance Logistics Private Limited earned its ISO 9001-2000 certification in the fiscal year 2004-05 for over 100 of its branches and 23 distribution centers by LRQA. In its first year of inception RLPL had a total turnover of Rs.319 crore. In the fiscal year 2002-03 RLPL commenced the transportation of RIL liquid chemicals and IPCL products. The same year it also launched non-RIL transportation services and increased its turnover to Rs.580 crore. The fiscal year 2003-04 marked the initiation of petro oil and lubricants transportation as well as the formation of 16 associated Companies was completed. The distribution business and real time tracking unit installation was also initiated the same year. Multimodal transportation was initiated in the year 2005-06 and the turnover for RLPL was Rs.1531.85 crore. RLPL initiated its package delivery services and incorporated Infinite Logistics Solution Pvt. Ltd. in 2006-07 along with incorporating Relogistics India Pvt. Limited by merging 16 associated companies in one entity. RLPL uses IT support and in-house Telematics and Telemetry technology in order to facilitate its logistics business.

RLPL and Container Corporation of India Ltd. formed a Joint Venture in 2007 to incorporate Infinite Logistics Solution Pvt. Ltd. with a 51:49 shareholding to provide end to end inter modal solutions to its customers.

Business Divisions – Types of business and product divisions
RLPL provides the following Logistics solutions:

Transportation solutions: Relogistics offers customized transport solutions to a wide cross-section of product segments & industries like FMCG – Unilever, ITC, Colgate Palmolive, Godrej; Agro Sector – Parle Agro Products, ITC Agro, National Seed Corporation; Metal & Mineral Industry – Jindal Steel, Surya Sponge Iron Ind., Visa Steel, Hindalco; Bulk Movement – Vasundadatta Cement, Jubliant Organosys Ltd, IPCL; Engineering Industry – Havells, L&T Ltd., Bhilai Engineering; and Retail – Reliance Retail. The services provided under this division are product specific transport solution, multimodal services, flexi-liner (bulk loose cargo), EXIM services, Port Terminal Container Transportation and Project Cargo Transportation.

Warehousing & Distribution: It manages multi-user distribution centers that provide the benefits of a shared infrastructure. More than 2,00,000 tons of cargo flows through RLPL’s distribution centers each month. The wide range of services provided under this division are warehousing services, secondary transportation, invoicing, in plant logistics, distribution solutions and value added services.

Package Delivery Services: Under this RLPL operates through a network of 12 Multi Service Centers and 250 franchisees with headquarters in Mumbai. The services offered are: Express package (surface), Express package (Air) and Cheque on delivery.

Multimodal Solutions: The Joint venture Infinite Solutions Pvt. Ltd. offers services like end-to-end road-rail multimodal services, warehousing & 3PL integrated logistics solutions, terminal management and infrastructure development.

Own Fleet Services: Relogistics has its own fleet that comprises of a range of vehicles in order to provide complete logistics solutions. The fleet centers are operational at GTI, JNPT, Delhi, Surat, Vizag and Indore.

Assets Tracking Solutions: Reliance Telematics is a division of RLPL that is engaged in automation support systems for moving assets in the Supply Chain Management Area. It provides GPS based vehicle tracking solutions for Indian Industries.

Corporate Structure:

Niraj Ambani – President Reliance Logistics Private Limited
Yogesh Kundra – Vice-President Tranport Reliance Logistics Private Limited

Stock : Listing and Performance over time –  Not listed separately, only as part of Reliance Group.

Slogan
Your reliable and cost effective logistics partner

Vision
India’s No 1 Integrated and Preferred Logistics Organization Providing World Class Services with a Global Reach.

Mission
To be the most Reliable, Cost Effective, Safe and Integrated Logistics Service Provider to Our Customers and to Form Mutually Beneficial and Value-Based Relationships with Our Partners, through Innovation
and Use of Technology.

Promise
We will create a family of satisfied customers by offering integrated logistics solutions that help them in their business

Subsidiaries: RLPL has no subsidiaries

Sponsorships: Only as part of the Reliance Group

Founding –

Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, which is based in Mumbai. RRL was set up in 2006 and marks the foray of the Reliance Group into organized retail. RRL has been conceptualized to include growth for farmers, vendor partners, small shopkeepers and consumers. It is based on Reliance’s backward integration strategy, to build a value chain starting from farmers to consumers.

Important past events – Growth graph of the company and important events over the years. E.g. the Demerger, any significant Mergers & Acquisitions

Products:

Business Divisions –

Reliance Retail Ltd. has a number of company-owned outlets along with a franchisee format that would be in collaboration with Kirana shop owners. Its various divisions are:

Reliance Mart – It is designed to be an all under one roof supermarket that again caters to household needs.

Reliance Fresh was the first amongst various format stores to be launched by Reliance Retail Ltd. It currently has 453 stores operational across India and the ideology behind the initiative has been to bring “Farm to fork” thereby removing middle men and benefitting both farmer and consumer. The stores would typically be of an area of around 3,000-5,000 sq ft. Each store is to provide fresh fruits, vegetables and also products of Reliance Select and other related groceries. Each store is to at least 50 employees, thereby giving employment to around 1,500 people in the 30 new outlets. The retail major plans to have a total of 100m sq ft of retail space in 800 cities by the calendar year 2010 and generate revenues of $22 billion by the end of financial year 2011. Presently the Reliance Fresh store sizes are between 1100 sq ft and 7500 sq ft depending upon the location.

Reliance Super will be a smaller version of the hypermarket format. It is to offer over 10,000 products in various categories like grocery, home care, stationery, pharmaceutical products, apparels & accessories, FMCG, consumer durables & IT, automotive accessories and lifestyle products. Reliance Super stores are to be large supermarkets with an area of 4,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. and will not sell fruits and vegetables like Reliance Fresh.

Reliance Digital is a consumer electronics concept mega store. It is designed to be a one stop shop for all technology solutions in the field of consumer electronics, home appliances, information technology and telecommunications. The stores are to cover an area of more than 15,000 sq. ft. and offer a variety of over 4,000 products spread across 150 brands along with solution bundles to meet diverse customer needs. The staff will counsel and guide customers not only to buy products but also provide complete solutions to ensure consumers buy the right product at the right price. It will continue to offer Reliance One, a common membership and loyalty program across all formats, which follows the philosophy ’Earn Anywhere, Spend Anywhere’. It shall also provide finance options for purchases. Reliance Digital is to be a large format store spread across 15,000 to 35,000 sq. ft. and is scheduled to come up in 70 cities in India in the near future.

Reliance Trends is a specialty apparel store that will sell men, women and children’s garments. The store will carry the best of national and international brands like John Players, Peter England, Indigo Nation, Wrangler, Reebok, and Lee, apart from in-house brands. The store layout is to compliment the evolving taste and preference of fashion savvy consumers, giving them an opportunity to view /shop with ease, along with well trained customer service associates, to compliment the entire shopping process. By 2010, Reliance has planned to open 100 more stores across the country with focus on major cities. The company is targeting a turnover of Rs. 20,000 crore ($5 billion) from this format. This is a part of the US$ 25 billion (Rs. 100,000 crore) overall sales from retail business.

Reliance Wellness is a chain of specialty wellness stores that would offer pre-emptive, curative as well as health and beauty solutions. The store is to add value to people’s lives, by providing products and services that will proactively work to enrich people’s body, mind and spirit. It is to house world class products under one roof and also educate consumers on their health needs, thus enabling them to take charge of their health. It will sell international and national brands like H2O, Neutrogena, Olay, Sports Nutrition, etc. They will also house alternate medicine, health books & music. The stores are to showcase Wellness Events, Seminars, Workshops and Advisory camps on contemporary wellness issues like diabetes, hypertension, fitness, diet and nutrition, weight management and skin care.

Reliance Footprints is a specialty footwear store that would offer over 25,000 pairs of formal, casual, ethnic, party wear and sports wear in men, women and children footwear. The store is to be spread over 7,500 square feet and be dedicated to footwear, handbags and accessories. The design of Footprint was conceptualized by Pavlik of USA which is one of the best design houses in the world keeping in mind the taste and preferences of the Indian consumer. It shall offer brands from Europe and America like Josef Siebel, Rockport, Hush Puppies, Lee Cooper Clarks, Levis, Nike, Adidas, Piccadilly, Dr. Scholl’s and more. For kids, Crocs and Disney will be showcased. The store plans a pan-India presence by opening over 15 more specialty stores.

Reliance Jewels is a stand-alone fine jewelery format. It is to be a one stop shopping destination for fine jewelery. Reliance Retail ventured into gems and jewelery trade with the aim of launching 300 stores all over India within a 3 year time frame. With a growing demand for jewelery and lower competition, Reliance Retail Ltd. plans to overtake Tata’s Tanishq by 2010. The gold jewelery range shall include Kolkata Filigree, Rajkot minakari jewelery, Kundan from Jaipur, Temple jewellery from Kerala, Jadau from Amritsar and more. In Diamond jewelery, Reliance Jewels will offer the finest quality of diamonds and the widest range of daily wear, party wear and wedding designs.

Reliance Timeout - With over 56,000 products Reliance Timeout will offer customer an extensive range of merchandise in books, music, stationery, toys and gifts. It is to a format based on the ideology to provide a place where a consumer can unwind and relax, browse and buy a book, sample some music, choose a gift, and buy a toy or some exclusive stationery for themselves. Reliance Timeout will offer a comprehensive range of products in these categories along with an attempt to create a fascinating customer experience with a warm, lively ambience.

Corporate Structure:

Reliance Retail Limited is the vision of Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani who is also the Chairman & Managing Director of RIL.

The Executive Directors are Nikhil R. Meswani, Hital R. Meswani, Hardev Singh Kohli, PMS Prasad and R. Ravimohan. Ramniklal H. Ambani is the non-executive and non-independent director.

Key Executives for RRL are:

Raghu Pillai – Director, Chief Executive and President of Retail Operations & Strategy

Ajay Baijal – President of Corporate Planning

Manu Kapoor – Senior Vice-President of Corporate Affairs Division

Bijay Sahoo – Head of Human Resources

Stock : Listing and Performance over time –  As Reliance Retail Limited is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited it is not listed separately on any stock exchange, it can only impact the prices of Reliance Industries Limited.

According to RIL’s annual report for 2008-09 Reliance Retail Ltd reported a net loss of Rs. 20.24 crore on a revenue of Rs. 622.31 crore, Reliance Fresh reported a net loss of Rs. 249.30 crore on a revenue of Rs. 1,778.06 crore, Reliance Hypermart Ltd reported a loss of Rs. 51.84 crore on a revenue of Rs. 372.32 crore. Reliance Digital Retail Finance Ltd and Reliance Dairy Foods Ltd to reported losses. Reliance’s retail businesses closed the year with an aggregate loss of Rs. 557 crore on a revenue of about Rs. 4,000 crore.

Key Data: As part of RIL

Slogans/Mission Statements -

“Growth is Life”

Throughout the years RRL has been successful in setting up more than 900 stores in 80 cities across 14 states in India to facilitate its multi-format store strategy.

Various other subsidiaries listed under Reliance Retail Limited are:

Retail Concepts and Services (India) Limited, Reliance Retail Insurance Broking Limited, Reliance Retail Finance Limited, RESQ Limited, Reliance Financial Distribution and Advisory Services Limited, Reliance Retail Travel & Forex Services Limited, Reliance Brands Limited, Reliance Integrated Agri Solutions Limited, Reliance Lifestyle Holdings Limited, Reliance Universal Ventures Limited, Strategic Manpower Solutions Limited, Reliance F&B Services Limited, Reliance Agri Products Distribution Limited, Reliance Leisures Limited, Reliance Food Processing Solutions Limited, Reliance Supply Chain Solutions Limited, Reliance Loyalty & Analylitics Limited, Reliance-GrandOptical Private Limited, Reliance Vantage Retail Limited, Reliance People Serve Limited, Reliance One Enterprises Limited, Reliance Nutritional Food Processors Limited, Reliance Petro Marketing Private Limited, LPG Infrastructure (India) Private Limited

Sponsorships: Only as part of Reliance Industries Limited

Reliance Clinical Research Services has been set up by the Reliance Life Sciences Group to offer world-class clinical research services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies of the world. It has been established as a contract based research organization by the biotechnological subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited. The headquarters of Reliance Clinical Research Services (RCRS) are situated in the Reliance Life Sciences facility in Navi Mumbai, India. RCRS also has business development offices in USA and UK. The services on offer by RCRS include Phase I-IV Clinical Trial Management and Monitoring, Pharmacovigilance, Biometrics, Pharmacokinetic & Pharmacodynamic studies, Cardiac Safety (thorough QTc) studies, Bioequivalence studies, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance, Pre-clinical Development, Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Bioanalytical services, Medical Writing and Translation.

RCRS has a highly qualified staff to compliment the services offered which consists of Physicians, PhDs, and multi-disciplinary GCP trained staff. RCRS is the first Clinical Research Organization (CRO) in India to have its Central Pathology Laboratory accredited within the first two years of its inception by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory of RCRS has also been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Calibration and Testing Laboratories (NABL) as well as the College of American Pathologists (CAP). RCRS utilizes its network of investigators from South East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries to offer an array of services. RCRS has conducted studies in over 14 therapeutic domains including oncology, endocrinology, dermatology, hematology, gastroenterology, neurology, cardiovascular, vaccines, psychiatry, gynecology, infectious diseases, regenerative disorders, ophthalmology and nephrology.

Preclinical Services

The preclinical studies for RCRS are conducted at the Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Centre in Navi Mumbai, India. Its preclinical services are essentially in-vivo efficacy and pre-clinical safety studies primarily for cell-based therapies, proteins and chemical entities. The studies are conducted in a state-of-the-art facility with an environmental monitoring system while ensuring compliance with OECD principles of Good Laboratory Practice. The preclinical services division of RCRS is capable of conducting general toxicology studies that include Acute Toxicology, Sub-Chronic Toxicity Studies and Chronic Toxicity Studies by Ooral and Parenteral Routes. Local tissue tolerance studies, mutagenicity studies and Bio efficacy studies of biotechnologically derived products are also part of the RIL preclinical services.

Phase I – IV Clinical Trials

RCRS has an over-60 bedded clinical facility in Navi Mumbai and an over-35 bedded facility at Bangalore for conducting Bioequivalence and Bioavailability studies. Along with using techniques like bar-coding for volunteers and biological samples RCRS also complies with regulatory requirements of US FDA, ANVISA (Brazil), MPA (Sweden), MoH (Turkey), MHRA (UK), MCC (South Africa), TGA (Australia) and DCG (India). For phase II to IV of clinical trials, RCRS offers services for project management, co-ordination of investigator meetings, clinical trial site qualification and monitoring, clinical trial monitoring and supplies management, pharmacovigilance, biometrics and quality assurance. The Biometrics Group encompasses the functions of Data Management, SAS Programming, and Statistics. The Quality Assurance team at RCRS offers Clinical Investigator Site Audits, Sponsor Audits, Systems Audits, Central Laboratory Audits, Clinical Trial Supply Audits, Adverse Event Reporting System Audits, Computer Systems Validation Audits, Database and Data Management audits and GLP Audits.

Diagnostic Laboratory Services

The diagnostic laboratory of RCRS is enrolled with CAP and Bio-Rad for external proficiency testing. RCRS provides a host of molecular diagnostic services in association with Reliance Life Sciences’ Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics testing laboratory which include DNA amplification of infectious diseases, HLA typing, Bcr/abl RT PCR along with Genetic testing, karyotyping, FISH and pre-implantation genetic diagnostics. The laboratory also offers facilities for testing flow cytometry, CD4 / CD8 / CD3 absolute, percentage, Oncology Leukemia, Lymphoma markers, Serology, HIV 1 & 2 Ab, HBsAg, HCV Ab, Syphillis Ab, CMV lgG / lgM Ab, HTLV 1 & 2 Ab (LlA), HIV Western Blot and Cytokine / chemokine levels.

Medical Writing

RCRS offers regulatory, marketing, clinical and educational document writing services including peer-review publications. SOPs, developing scientific posters and writing manuscripts are also on offer by RCRS. The RCRS team consists of physicians who hold expertise in developing documents in various therapeutic areas like oncology, cardiology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, diabetes, neuropsychiatry and respiratory disorders. US/EU/ICH guidelines and regulations are followed by RCRS while preparing documents.

RCRS offers the Young Clinical Research Professionals Program (YCPP) and the Advance Diploma in Clinical Research as courses that focus on the responsibilities of sponsors, investigators, Ethics Committe personnel and other clinical trial players.

The Reliance Institute of Life Sciences is dedicated towards offering higher learning in various domains of life sciences and related technologies. The educational institute was established by the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation which is registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950. It is said to be the first ever effort in India that provides graduate, postgraduate, doctoral, research and continuing education programs in several emerging areas of science as well as technology. The institute offers training in specific areas of fundamental and applied research that include basic and applied sciences, computer science and engineering, biomedical science and engineering, pharmaceutical science and engineering, agriculture and environment sciences, process development and manufacturing science and clinical research.

The administration of Reliance Institute of Life Sciences is headed by Mukesh Ambani as the Chairman. K.V. Subramaniam is the vice-chairman while Dr. Arnab Kapat is the director. The executive members for the institute include Prof. Arvind Kudchadker, Dilip Kumar Ghosh and Vinay Ranade. The faculty comprises of a pool of eminent scientists working for Reliance Life Sciences. Faculty from reputed academic institutions and the life sciences industry are also invited in order to teach specific fundamental and applied topics. The Reliance Life Sciences campus also houses Reliance Institute of Life Sciences (RILS) that has state-of-the-art lecture halls, a library that comprises of a reference section, a regular text section and a computing facility that has Internet access. The diploma programs are conducted on a five-day week basis during class room training. The working hours have been affixed from 10.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.; however, during the project the work week is adjusted to a six-day week and work hours are rescheduled to 10.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

The Competency Development Program

The competency development programs offered by RILS focus on training aspirants in the domain of life sciences by developing their competencies to cater to life sciences and allied areas. Classroom training is carried on for a period of three months which is then followed up by nine months of field training. During training candidates are assessed for learning and performing abilities. The Young Professionals’ Program includes the Young Engineers Program (YEP), Young Clinical Professionals’ Program (YCPP), Young Manufacturing Professionals’ Program (YMPP), Young Quality Management Professionals’ Program (YQMPP), Young Scientists’ Program (YSP), Young Medico-Marketing Professionals’ Program (YMMPP), Young Agri-Professionals Program (YAPP), ECG Readers’ Program (ERP) and the Young Laboratory Technicians Program (YLTP).

YEP trains enrollees on building competency for designing, engineering, implementing, installing, commissioning and validating highly automated biopharmaceuticals manufacturing plants while complying with the regulations of Indian FDA, USFDA and EMEA. YCPP trains participants in various aspects of clinical research, clinical trials, bio-equivalence and bioavailability studies as well as regulatory affairs. In YSP participants are trained on the basic fundamentals of biological sciences and good laboratory practices. The ECG Readers’ Program is a highly specialized program that trains medical doctors on ECG measurement, annotation and overall assessment to be at par with international standards.

Advanced Diploma Programs

Under the advanced diploma program in biotherapeutics students would be trained on modules like introduction to Embryonic stem cells, Ocular stem cells, Haematopoietic stem cells, Skin and tissue engineering, cell biology, plant engineering, cGMP manufacturing, quality management, clinical research as well as occupational health and safety. The three months of class room training will then be followed by project work a duration of nine months in areas like Cell biology, Molecular biology, Upstream process engineering, Downstream process engineering, cGMP manufacturing, Plant engineering and Quality management.

The advanced diploma in clinical research by RILS is a part time program for a time period of 52 weeks that focuses on conducting clinical trials for bioavailability/bio-equivalence studies of drug molecules and is designed to meet the need of Contract Research Organizations. A few of the modules offered by the program are Good Clinical Practices (GCP) & regulatory overview, Preclinical Studies and Pharmacology, Clinical study document preparation, Clinical trial initiation, Site initiation, Project management, Data Management, Biostatistics, Risk in clinical research and the Influence of technology.

RILS has conducted three international symposia till date in collaboration with Reliance Life Sciences which were focused on Preventive and Predictive Molecular Diagnostics and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in 2006 and Evidence-Based Practices in Reproductive and Fetal Medicine in 2007. The international symposia are conducted with the aim of creating a knowledge-sharing platform for the entire scientific fraternity of the world. Specialized workshops are also conducted by RILS to impart training on the various aspects of genetically inherited diseases, testing and methodology and the psychological and social aspects of counseling.

History:
Founding –

Reliance Life Sciences was incorporated in the year 2001 and is an initiative of the Reliance Group of companies. Reliance Life Sciences was initiated in order to develop business opportunities on the medical, plant and industrial biotechnology front. RLS aspires to be the most diverse and integrated biotechnology initiative developed in the world. The main campus for Reliance Life Sciences is at the Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Center which is located on a 20 acre plot in Navi Mumbai. The Clinical Research Services are situated in a facility in Bangalore. The Biofuels agronomy research is conducted at farms located in Kakinada, Nagothane and Gandhar. Taking forth its motto of diversity and depth of initiatives Reliance Life Sciences has a team of PH.Ds,  M.Ds, Engineers and post graduates in sciences. One-third of its employees are women.

Important past events –

Reliance GeneMedix Plc is a UK-based subsidiary of Reliance Life Sciences. It has emerged from the acquisition of the UK based biotech company Genemedix Plc in order to develop biosimilars for the European market. The manufacturing facility for Reliance GeneMedix Plc is situated in Ireland. The first product from this association is slated to be the biosimilar version of Erythropoietin which is used in kidney-related applications and in patients under chemotherapy.

Reliance Life Sciences has filed over 281 patents at both national and international levels that cover the entire spectrum of its research and development activities. Reliance Life Sciences is also working on the development of novel therapeutics that are aimed at the treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, ocular disorders and neurodegenerative disorders. This discovery program is based on siRNA and monoclonal antibodies.

Reliance Life Sciences made an important contribution towards surgery of Hemophiliac patients in 2006. Total Knee replacement surgery was previously viewed as too risky and complex in Hemophiliac patients but is now possible with Anti-Hemophilic Factor VIII that was made available by Reliance Life Sciences.

Reliance Life Sciences also plans to foray into the global generic drug space with the introduction of its first generic drug in the international market in 2009. It will produce Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (APIs) and generic medicines for the international market including the US and Europe.

Products:

Reliance Life Sciences has a variety of medical and plant products to offer.
It offers the following through its medical products and services line:

Medical Products:
Biopharmaceuticals

Plasma Proteins –

• ReliSeal: It is a quick acting fibrin sealant derived from human blood plasma with hemostatic sealing and adhesive properties. It can be used in surgical procedures to curb bleeding, seal tissues and heal wounds by mimicking the final stage of the natural clotting mechanism.

• AlbuRel: It is human normal albumin and is used for the restoration and maintenance of circulating blood volume where there is volume deficiency and use of colloid oncotic pressure is required.

• ImmunoRel: It is derived from pooled human plasma. Its U.S. FDA approved indications are in primary immunodeficiency, ITP, Kawasaki disease, CLL, paediatric HIV infection, bone marrow transplantation. Its off-label uses are for GB syndrome, Multifocal Motor Neuropathy, CIDP, Lambert Eaton Myasthenic syndrome, Myasthenia Gravis, Neonatal Sepsis, Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis.

• HemoRel: It is an intermediate pure factor VII and is indicated for patients diagnosed with the clotting disorder of haemophilia A, who have a deficiency of factor VIII. It was successfully used in the total knee replacement of a haemophilia patient in 2006.

• ReliPlasma: It is pooled viral inactivated plasma which is used as a substitute of fresh frozen plasma and effectively eliminates enveloped viruses like HBV, HCV and HIV from plasma. Treatment of plasma with Reliplasma has shown a reduction of the frequency of both transfusion transmitted infections and non-infectious complications. It can be administered for treatment of various clotting disorders, TTP and bleeding related to use of drugs such as warfarin.

Biosimilars

• Reliferon: It assists the human immune response system by activating natural killer cells and macrophages, promoting antigen presentation to lymphocytes and thereby inducing resistance of host cells against foreign agents and also has direct anti-viral effects. It is used in the treatment of more than 14 malignancies and viral diseases which includes adjuvant therapy in metastatic melanoma, condyloma acuminata, Kaposi’s sarcoma and most significantly hepatitis B and C.

• ReliPoietin: It works as a growth hormone and also stimulates the production of red blood cells from the hematopoietic stem cells found in the bone marrow. It is solely produced by kidney cells, and therefore, any functional damage to the kidneys can result in the deficiency of EPO as well as reduction in the production of the RBC pool that eventually leads to anemia. It is used to reverse anemic conditions that arise due to the body’s inability to produce the required amount of erythropoietin, and thereby reduce the pool of red blood cells. It is used as support therapy to reduce the number of dialysis required by renal failure patients and better tolerance of chemotherapy and reduced number of blood transfusions in case of cancer patients.

• ReliGrast: It is a human recombinant Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor which is a specific growth factor that is known to stimulate the production of neutrophils that are a type of white blood cells in the body that are necessary for fighting infections. It is used to therapeutically reverse neutropenic conditions. It can be used in chemotherapy induced neutropenia, AIDS-associated neutropenia, congenital and cyclic idiopathic neutropenia.

Regenrative Medicine:

• Reli-Heal G: It is sterile gauze that provides a moist environment for wounds to heal. Its benefits are a decreased rate of infection, autolytic debridement of slough and necrotic tissue as well as minimal pain or trauma to the wound bed, whenever it is applied or removed.

Pharmaceuticals

• TemoRel: It is a chemotherapeutic agent that is indicated for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and refractory anaplastic astrocytoma. GBM and anaplastic astrocytoma are high grades of brain tumors or gliomas.

Medical Services -
Regenerative Medicine

• Relicord: Relicord S is a sibling donor program and Relicord A is an allogenic voluntary donor program that is offered to patients who suffer from blood related disorders and need transplantation. The Cord Blood Repository for Reliance Life Sciences holds a license from the Food and Drug Administration of the Government of India.

• ReliNethra: It is the first stem cell based therapy in India and is indicated for unilateral partial and total limbal stem cell deficiency conditions like chemical burns, thermal burns, mechanical injuries to cornea, contact lens-induced keratopathy and more.

Molecular Medicine

• Relix: It is a range of molecular diagnostic and genetic testing services used for diagnosing several infectious diseases and genetic disorders like tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, dengue virus, typhoid, amniotic fluid karyotyping, cord blood karyotyping and more.

For its plant products and services line Reliance Life Sciences offers:

Plant Products -

• Tissue Cultured Plants: To cultivate a wide variety of plants for various uses in categories like horticulture, floriculture, ornamental plants, plantation, bio-diesel and medicinal and aromatic plants.

• ReliCare: It is Aloe Vera spray dried powder that can be useful in cosmetic applications and nutraceuticals applications.

• Rellure: It is Kesar Mango pulp made from the Kesar mangoes grown at the Reliance orchard in Jamnagar and is marketed for use as an ingredient in milk shakes, ice cream and mango juice preparations.

Plant Services -

• Cultivation Technology: Reliance Life Sciences uses a detailed package of practices for tissue cultured plant-based plantations as well as it has timely field inspections along with advice from qualified and experienced scientists.

• Contract Production & Research: Through this Reliance Life Sciences offers contract production of plants that uses either the protocol supplied by the client or the available in-house protocols. Reliance Life Sciences also initiates and micro-propagates cultures supplied by customers. It also develops commercially viable tissue culture production protocols on request.

Business Divisions

The Plant Tissue Culture Group is to provide micro-propagation of plants, mass multiplication of elite varieties and contract production of client-specific plant varieties.

ReGenesis is an assisted reproduction facility of Reliance Life Sciences which is situated in Worli, Mumbai. It is a centre for assisted reproduction, endoscopy and fetal medicine.

The Industrial Biotechnology initiative encompasses Biopolymers and Biochemicals and is involved in bioprocess innovation and development from process inception to industrial level production.

Reliance Life Sciences pursues research programs in Enzymology in Industrial Enzymes for Biofuels and Therapeutic Enzymes.

Reliance Institute of Life Sciences is a part of the initiative by Reliance Life Sciences. It is a not-for-profit organization that is sponsored by the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation. The main focus of Reliance Institute of Life Sciences is to develop competent biotechnology that will be of use to the entire industry. The Institute has on offer a wide range of competency development programs and diploma programs in both biotherapeutics and clinical research.

Corporate Structure:
The company board of directors, important executives and other people instrumental to the success of the company

Stock : Listing and Performance over time – No separate listing on any stock exchange.

Slogans/Mission Statements -

Vision of attaining global leadership through innovative and cost-effective solutions for a better life.

Subsidiaries:

Reliance Biopharmaceuticals Private Limited: An initiative to research, develop and market products in categories of Blood Plasma Proteins, Biosimilars and Monoclonal Antibodies.

Reliance Pharmaceuticals Private Limited: To develop active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulations for global markets.

Reliance Clinical Research Services: To cater to drug development needs of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical device and nutraceutical companies from USA, EU, Japan, India and other parts of the world. To offer CRO in domains like medical writing, biostatistics, clinical data management, etc.

Reliance Biofuels Private Limited: It is working towards developing an India-centric biofuels initiative that covers Biodiesel from Jatropha and other non-food oil seed crops, Bioethanol from cellulosic biomass and Biobutanol from cellulosic biomass.

Sponsorships: Only as part of the Reliance Group

ReliCord is an initiative by the Reliance Group in the field of biotechnological advancement. It is established as a part of the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Reliance Life Sciences. ReliCord is the first to have a registered cord blood band and repository in India as well as the entire region of South East Asia. In terms of Biotechnology India is currently amongst the top five countries in the Asia Pacific region. Reliance Life Sciences and ReliCord are an endeavour by the Reliance Group to tap into this emerging market that has great potential.

ReliCord has already stored over 3,500 cord blood samples at its repository. It conforms to the AABB and USFDA guidelines and has an infrastructure to collect cord blood from any corner of the country through its collection centres. ReliCord offers public as well as private banking and is the only facility in India that offers stem cell research for current and future applications. The cord blood samples are stored at the Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Centre (DALC) campus in Navi Mumbai. The repository is completely automated and uses the most advanced technology under the supervision of a host of experienced scientists.

ReliCord runs three programs for the collection of cord blood: ReliCord S, ReliCord A and ReliCord M. ReliCord S and ReliCord A offer stem cell enriched cord blood repository services as well as stem cell enriched cord blood for transplantation to address haematological disorders. ReliCord S is a program for sibling donors. This program is for a mother or a family that wants to process and bank the umbilical cord blood stem cells from the present pregnancy. Only family members waiting for transplantation can utilize this program. Under ReliCord S the stored cord blood stem cells can be used for haematopoetic stem cell transplantation for family members suffering from diseases such as Thalassemia or Leukemia. The ReliCord S and A program not only stores the stem cells but also tests and processes the same along with delivering the stem cells to the transplant site as per the direction received from the transplant physician.

ReliCord A is meant for patients who require transplants with grafts from the repository. Under this program a patient first has to obtain his HLA profile to facilitate the availability of the graft. HLA profiling is also offered by Reliance Life Sciences. ReliCord M offers umbilical cord banking and cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells banking services as a combined storage service for parents-to-be. The Relicord M program offers umbilical cord collection, processing of the cord, culturing of mesenchymal stem cells and storage of cord tissue with 15 million stem cells. Before storage the cord blood is tested for HIV, HBV, HCV and CMV. The blood is also typed for Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) Class 1 and 2 antigens before processing. The stem cell enriched cord blood is then cryo-preserved at the repository at a temperature of minus 196 degree Celcius. Stem cell enriched cord blood can be used as a therapy for the treatment of Thalassemia, Leukaemia, Brain Tumor, Neuroblastoma and Sickle Cell Anaemia and can be used as an adjunct therapy for chemotherapy.