Anshu Khanna

Why she matters: Dancing between the worlds of corporate India and our cultural heritage, Nita Ambani promotes the arts, protects the artists and preserves their artistry. We throw light on her inspiring journey, as she paints the country’s future with passion and purpose.

The most iconic face of corporate India, Nita Ambani is also equally celebrated by the world for her Zen for the arts and zest for sports. Not to forget her dedication to education and her tireless efforts in adding value to the life of tomorrow’s Indians through the two weapons of knowledge and sports. Endlessly reigning over headlines for all the right reasons, her life resonates with perfection, her very recent gift to the nation being the world-class Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, standing tall as an oasis of refined culture and cadent art in an era of instant mediocrity.

Mother of three dynamic Ambani heirs and now a grandmother, Nita founded the Reliance Foundation to give wings to the CSR dreams of the Ambani Group, with the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani International School being her first step towards giving back to the society. A trained teacher herself, she infused in her institute the core value of offering a rounded curriculum, where sports, the arts and performing arts rubbed shoulders with academics.

As the owner of the Mumbai Indians IPL team, she not only brought in a culture of coexistence and support within her squad, but went a step further to create the Education and Sports for All initiative that’s reached out to more than a lakh young Indians. Moreover, in 2017, Nita was conferred the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar by the President of India.

A lover of nature, she planted a veritable forest of trees when asked to oversee the Jamnagar Township Project, which houses over 17 lakh employees of the Ambani Group. A homemaker, mother and caring wife, she’s sensitive to the struggle women of all strata go through to find their own feet, and hence she established ‘Her Circle,’ a support group for women to connect, exchange dreams and scale heights together. Indeed, behind all the glitz, glamour and pizzazz dwells a woman who wants to better the world around her.

To see who else is on the list, grab the copy of HELLO! India’s August 2023 issue right here!