Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, Jet Airways and other top newsmakers of 2019

• The five businesses that made the most news in the year are Reliance Industries, Jet Airways, Amazon India, Tata Sons and Indigo Airlines.
• A report made by the technology led PR platform Wizikey shared insights into what made these companies the newsmakers of 2019.
• From Reliance’s AGM to Jet Airways downfall, it was a mix of good and bad that brought these companies in the news.

2019 was a year of headlines – from Indian general elections to the economic slowdown. Businesses have been at the receiving end – from those which shut shop to those that opened new doors to success.

The top five businesses that generated the most news are Reliance Industries, Jet Airways, Amazon India, Tata Sons and Indigo Airlines, according to a report by the technology-led PR platform Wizikey. They stayed in the news for both good and bad reasons.

Reliance Industries

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance recently created history in the stock market with its market cap crossing ₹10 lakh crore. It was the first Indian company to do so. But that wasn’t the only news that caught everyone’s attention.

The stock and the company has been buzzing especially during the second half of the year. According to the Wizikey report, Reliance holds the credit for one-third of the total news created by the top 5 companies.

The busiest news month for the company was in August, when it held its annual general meeting. At the AGM, Ambani made major announcements -- like fundraising apart from unveiling next-gen technology.


Jet Airways

The Indian airlines shut shop in April this year and not surprisingly, that was the month it was mentioned the most. The report said that the most common buzzwords around Jet Airways were “flight cancellation, aircraft grounding, insolvency proceedings, debt resolution and management takeover”.


IndiGo

Accompanying Jet Airways in the newsmakers sector, was one of India’s largest airlines – IndiGo. Having gained from the collapse of Jet Airways, with more bookings coming its way, IndiGo too had its fair share of trouble. A feud between its founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal over company’s control took an ugly turn. Both of them had landed in the courts in July 2019, after Gangawal’s sensational expose on the workings of the airline.


Amazon India

Amazon India has been generating both good and bad news this year.

“Amazon saw itself being mentioned the most throughout the year - for all the wrong reasons,” said the Wizikey report. October was the month of most mentions, after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade called in the e-commerce giant for its deep discounts and possible foul play. But it was also the festive month, where Amazon’s great sales kept it in the news.


Tata Sons

Tata Sons owe their “newsy” year to one person – Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, when he was appointed the Minister for External Affairs. Jaishankar held the post of President, Global corporate affairs at Tata Sons, which is why his appointment in the ministry shared the spotlight on the company.

But that’s not all. “Rumours around Jaguar being sold to BMW saw Tata mentioned in the news early in the year,” said the report. Tata’s interest in Jet Airways too got them a lot of space in the papers.