1932: Born to a schoolteacher near Chorwad in Gujarat.

1949: Goes to Aden to work with Shell Oil agents Besse & Co.

1958: Returns to Mumbai, floats Reliance Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs 15,000. Exports ginger, turmeric and other spices to west Asia before turning to textiles.

1966: Floats Reliance Textiles on a capital of Rs 15 lakh.

1977: Reliance Textile Industries issues 2.8 million shares in landmark public issue.

1978: Reliance shows financial management wizardry. Has been a zero-tax company since financial year 1977-78.

1979: Issues convertible debentures. Picks up over Rs 400 crore. Gets licence to make polyester filament yarn (PFY), along with Orkay Silk Mills.

1980: Co-hosts party for Congress (I) in Delhi immediately after Lok Sabha elections; prime minister Indira Gandhi attends. Pranab Mukherjee is finance minister, R.K. Dhawan key prime minister’s aide.

1982: The yarn plant goes onstream, using purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and dimethyl terephthalate. Government raises customs duty on polyester chips, used by Orkay; puts “anti-dumping” duty on PFY. Major bear hammering of Reliance shares to beat down price before RIL debenture issue; RIL brokers turn tables by buying shares—propping price—and insisting on delivery which ends in huge losses for bears. Nobody tries that trick again.

1983: Allegations surface of Reliance using dummy corporations named Crocodile Investments and Fiasco Investments registered in the tax haven of Isle of Man to purchase RIL shares at 20 per cent below the market price. Inconclusive, as owner-identities never proved.

1984: Ambani-Nusli Wadia war starts over government policy skewed against Wadia flagship Bombay Dyeing. Major tax raid on Orkay.

1985: V.P. Singh is finance minister. While Reliance sales rise, net profit tumbles. Creates history by holding annual shareholders meeting in a football field with 12,000 attending. RIL clocks 1.2 million shareholders.

1986: In February, Dhirubhai suffers a stroke. In March The Indian Express, owned by Ramnath Goenka and edited by Arun Shourie, publishes exposes accusing Reliance of smuggling by under-invoicing. Rumours of a raid and dropping price of polyester yarn trigger a panic run, dropping Reliance share price from Rs 388 to Rs 218 between June and October. Effects huge turnaround, with massive public response to its Rs 150 crore debenture issue. Reliance proposals start being cleared again.

1987: In March, V.P. Singh is dropped as finance minister. Reliance sponsors cricket World Cup. Polyester fibre taken off OGL List; government reduces import duty on PTA.

1988: Singh leaves Congress. Duty concessions in budget help reduce tax burden. Reliance Petrochemicals floats Rs 516 crore public issue for Hazira petrochem complex; brings in Rs 1,300 crore from two million applicants. RIL takes over engineering giant Larsen & Toubro.

1989: Government drops two cases against Reliance. Wadia gets embroiled in citizenship case. RIL executive Kirti Ambani held for conspiring to kill Wadia.

Anil (right) and Mukesh at L&T House

1990: V.P. Singh becomes prime minister. Government questions L&T takeover. Dhirubhai and Mukesh relinquish posts of chairman and vice-chairman of L&T. Government again queries plant equipment imports.

1992: Reliance is offered the first-ever Euro Issue of Global Depository Receipts by an Indian company.

1993: Sales cross Rs 4,000 crore making Reliance India’s largest private-sector company.

1995: Net profit touches Rs 1,065 crore, unparalleled in the Indian private sector. Reliance investigated for issuance of duplicate shares.

1996-97: Completion of Rs 9,000 crore Hazira complex. First Asian company to issue bonds in US debt market.

1999-2000: The Rs 25,000 crore Jamnagar Petrochemicals complex and bulk of refinery complex commissioned comprising: world’s largest grassroots refinery; India’s largest port; world’s largest paraxylene plant; world’s largest polypropylene plant. Announces plans for Reliance Infocom.

2001: Controversy over government’s decision to modify telecom policy; interpreted as done to benefit Reliance’s foray into mobile telephony. Reliance Infocom unveils Rs 25,000 crore plan.

2002: RPL merges with RIL. Acquires government’s 26 per cent stake in IPCL, India’s second largest petrochemicals company.